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Southeast Europe
September 8, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 15
further reinforced by the election of its former leader, Thaci, as president.
This was despite the unexpectedly strong showing of the left-wing Vetevendosje party, took second place in the election and now has 32 MPs in
the parliament, reflecting many Kosovans’ disillusionment with mainstream political parties.
The head of the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMiK),
"Trial of the century" opens in Montenegro
Denitsa Koseva in Sofia
Montenegro’s “trial of the century”, as it has been dubbed by local media, began at the Podgorica high court on September 6, after being delayed twice. The trial of those suspected of involvement in a failed coup attempt in October 2016 started with the interrogation of former Serbian police commander Bratislav Dikic, who pleaded not guilty.
The coup attempt coincided with Montenegro’s general election, and prosecutors say the plan was to take the parliament by force and assassi- nate the country’s then prime minister Milo Dju- kanovic.
His government had led Montenegro towards Nato membership, angering Moscow which previously had a close relationship with the small Balkan state. Two Russians are accused of being behind the plot, and the trial should shed light on recent revelations indicating that the Russian security services were involved.
Zahir Tanin, spoke on August 16 of a “shift in the configuration of the political landscape of Kosovo” seen in the election. He talked of a “tidal wave
of change”, with “many voters, particularly the younger generation” prioritising “jobs, access to education and economic opportunities, reducing corruption and strengthening the rule of law” above the ethno-nationalist rhetoric that has historically been the main tool for mobilising voters.
Montenegrin police make an arrest in connection to the coup plot investigation.
To secure transparency and avoid any doubts over the fairness of the trial, the high court allowed live broadcasting. This has been attracting extremely high interest from Montenegrins, who have been following the case avidly and hope to finally hear whether there actually was a plot — the opposition claims it was staged by Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) — and if so whether Rus- sia was involved.
On the first day of trial, Dikic said he came to Montenegro to visit a monastery and pray for his health. The former police commander allegedly suffers from cancer and has chosen alternative treatments which he said were supposed to in- clude herbs obtained by the monastery. The trial was paused twice upon the request of Dikic, who said he got tired due to his health condition.
“I wanted to pray at the monastery for my health and to take some alternative medications. Of all those indicted I only know my friend Kristina Hris-