Press review of the Americas
In the News: How do Russian voters vote in the Balkans?
Russians vote for their next president on March 15, 2024. © Dmitri Lovetsky / AP
By: Courrier des Balkans Follow |
Marion Roussey
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Thousands of Russians have come to settle in the Balkans since the invasion of Ukraine.
The opposition to Vladimir Putin is calling on nationals established in Serbia to vote on Sunday, while the vote has already taken place in Turkey and the Serbian entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In Transnistria, a separatist region of Moldova, polling stations are opening despite opposition from the Moldovan authorities.
Overview
of our correspondents.
The Russian army
is recruiting in Moldova
.
In the separatist province of Transnistria, Moldovan mercenaries are called upon to join Russian forces.
After more than two years of war, Vladimir Putin needs more and more fighters to compensate for the high mortality rate on the front line.
The calls are transmitted on Telegram and some answer them, despite the numerous obstacles to get to Russia.
Meanwhile, in Montenegro, Milorad Dodik is campaigning for “
the Serbian world
”.
Just after visiting Vladimir Putin, the strong man of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Serbs was welcomed with great fanfare in Podgorica by the President of the Montenegrin Parliament, Andrija Mandić.
The opportunity for him to recall his political obsessions: the disintegration of Bosnia-Herzegovina and the promotion of the “
Serbian world
”, therefore.
Analysis
.
Serbia supplies weapons to Israel amid destruction of Gaza
At least two large shipments of weapons have been delivered by Serbia to Tel Aviv since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last October.
The information was discovered by the BIRN investigative network despite obstacles from the Serbian Ministry of Commerce.
President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu present themselves as close allies.
Investigation
.
Another investigation, carried out by independent Serbian media Krik, revealed how Darko Šarić, a convicted drug lord in Serbia, benefited from the help of mysterious high-ranking officials.
Several high-ranking political figures are believed to be involved, including a former head of the secret service and the former interior minister, according to Sky messages intercepted and transmitted by French police to Serbian authorities.
Not all the actors have yet been identified, including the
mysterious and all-powerful “Oskar”
.
Doctors on strike in Slovenia
Slovenian doctors have been on strike for more than two months.
They are demanding salary increases, but above all denouncing the disorganization of the public health system, which has long been the pride of the country.
While practitioners flee to the private sector or abroad, many patients struggle to seek treatment.
Decryption
.
In Greece, higher education is under threat.
Since the fall of the dictatorship of the colonels in 1974, access to studies was exclusively public and free.
The conservative government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reversed this achievement by passing a law on March 8 authorizing private universities.
The announcement pushed tens of thousands of people into the streets of Athens to defend this “Greek exception”.
Reporting
.
In Romania, victory for environmental struggles
This is an important precedent for all movements in the Balkans fighting against the abusive exploitation of mining resources: the Canadian company Gabriel Resources demanded 6.7 billion dollars in damages from Romania for the cancellation of a large gold mine project in Roșia Montană.
The extraction project sparked a massive mobilization of citizens and NGOs.
It called for the expropriation of 880 families, the leveling of the four mountains surrounding the site and the treatment of the extracted material with a chemical solution containing cyanide.
The arbitration court dismissed the Canadian company's case.
Explanations
.
Still in Romania, a new affair is shocking the government.
The Minister of Agriculture Florin Barbu is accused of having authorized the transformation of 36,000 hectares of natural areas located in the Danube delta into agricultural land, to receive European subsidies.
The European Public Prosecutor's Office has
opened an investigation
.
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