BELGRADE (AFP) – Serbia’s coalition government is being prevented from doing its job properly, Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said in an interview published yesterday, pointing the finger at President Boris Tadic. “Our greatest problem is one of authority,” Dinkic told the daily Blic. “The government does not have the authority to implement the policies for which it was elected, and a solution must be found immediately.” He called on Tadic, head of the coalition’s core party, the Democratic Party, to accept differences of opinion on certain questions and allow the government to carry out its programs freely. Dinkic, who heads the minority G17 Plus party, underlined the rift caused by the takeover by Russian energy giant Gazprom of Serbia’s oil monopoly NIS, which was concluded in Moscow Wednesday by Tadic and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. G17 Plus voted against the deal giving Gazprom a 51 percent stake in NIS, complaining it was too favorable for the Russians. Saying Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and other members of his cabinet were being hampered in introducing economic and other reforms, Dinkic also referred to recent criticism of Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac by the head of the army.

ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey’s top court has dealt a setback to government efforts to meet European Union accession requirements by annulling an ombudsman law designed to hold public authorities to account. The Constitutional Court said their judges unanimously canceled the law on Thursday in a court case which had been brought by former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in 2006. A court official confirmed the ruling to Reuters yesterday and said details would be published at a later date. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn previously expressed regret that implementation of the ombudsman law had been blocked by the court, saying it was important in keeping public authorities accountable and enhancing citizens’ rights.

PODGORICA (AP) – Montenegro has awarded compensation of 4.1 million euros ($5.7 million) to the families of Muslims who fled Bosnia’s 1992-95 war only to be sent back to Bosnian Serb custody where most were killed, a government official said yesterday. The Montenegrin government announced the compensation after an agreement struck with victims’ families who had sued the state over the wartime deportations, said Justice Minister Miras Radovic. Compensation for the victims and the nine survivors of the deportations ranges from 10,000 euros ($14,000) to 170,000 euros ($238,000), the government said. The lawyer for the families, Dragan Prelevic, said that the compensation represented a “moral satisfaction.” He said that Montenegro has “acknowledged responsibility” for its actions by awarding it.

A Croat member of the Bosnian presidency has refused to meet with Serbia’s foreign minister in protest over the way Serbia is treating a Bosnian citizen currently on trial for war crimes in Belgrade. Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic is visiting Bosnia and meeting with top officials in Sarajevo. He was also due to talk to the three-member Bosnian presidency but Croat member Zeljko Komsic refused to attend the meeting because Serbia is refusing to allow Bosnian citizen and war crimes suspect Ilija Jurisic to defend himself from home – despite guarantees from Bosnia that he will attend all trials in Belgrade. Bosnia also claims Serbian authorities have denied the suspect adequate medical treatment in jail. (AP)

Serbia broadcast a nationwide report Thursday warning those who may be helping Europe’s most-wanted war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic that he could be putting them in danger. The broadcast on state-run television was the latest sign that Serbia is ramping up efforts to apprehend Mladic – a key condition of the country’s inclusion in the European Union. The report, which the TV station said was made by operatives searching for Mladic, said the fugitive was “not thinking of surrendering voluntarily.” It said Mladic was “hiding like an experienced fugitive, walking around apartments in woolen socks to make no noise, has forbidden loud talking and conducts strict hygiene in fear of sickness.” Fearing poisoning, he allegedly orders his bodyguards to taste his meals, it said. It was not clear how the report’s authors could know those details but not know where Mladic is himself. (AP)