Serbian Deputy PM welcomes support from OSCE Permanent Council
(OSCE)Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Nebojsa Covic, speaking at the 450th Meeting of the Permanent Council, May 2003. (OSCE) Photo details
VIENNA, 15 May 2003 - Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister, Dr Nebojsa Covic, made an impassioned plea at the Permanent Council on Thursday for recognition by the international community that his country had undergone a thorough transformation since the days of the Milosevic regime.
Citing the removal of legal obstacles to co-operation with the Hague Tribunal, progress in establishing civil control over the military-security services, and the new Special Court and Prosecutor to fight organized crime, Dr Covic said: "Serbia is aware of the evil that has come as a consequence of its hesitation in the fight against organized crime [But] the results achieved during the State of Emergency are impressive. I regret to say that support offered to us by the world and Europe is not always equal".
He told the main political decision-making body of the 55-nation OSCE, that what the young Serbian democracy needed was to establish partnership with the international community, which it had enjoyed on all issues but one, Kosovo.
Dr Covic criticized the rate of progress in establishing secure conditions for the return of 230,000 Serbs who had fled from Kosovo, only a small percentage of whom were back in their homes. And he repeated Belgrade's concern about the "complex" security situation since the beginning of 2003 in southern Serbia, near the towns of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, where peace and multi-ethnic institutions had earlier been established.
Speaking to reporters after his presentation, he welcomed the support he had received from members of the Permanent Council for Serbia's efforts to strengthen democracy and the rule of law.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed the threat still posed by organized crime to the security and economy in the region as a whole and in the European Union, primarily due to illegal trafficking in narcotics, weapons and people, and money laundering. "We must not allow criminals to manipulate patriotic feelings and to hide behind national flags", he said.
The growth of organized crime in the region was directly related to the collapse of the old social, political and economic system and strife between the old and the new economic, political and social reality, he added.
"The states within the region need the assistance of the international community in regard to co-operation, co-ordination and sharing of information to fight cross-border crime at a regional level", said Dr Covic. "We expect the OSCE could provide assistance in resolving this problem."
Citing the removal of legal obstacles to co-operation with the Hague Tribunal, progress in establishing civil control over the military-security services, and the new Special Court and Prosecutor to fight organized crime, Dr Covic said: "Serbia is aware of the evil that has come as a consequence of its hesitation in the fight against organized crime [But] the results achieved during the State of Emergency are impressive. I regret to say that support offered to us by the world and Europe is not always equal".
He told the main political decision-making body of the 55-nation OSCE, that what the young Serbian democracy needed was to establish partnership with the international community, which it had enjoyed on all issues but one, Kosovo.
Dr Covic criticized the rate of progress in establishing secure conditions for the return of 230,000 Serbs who had fled from Kosovo, only a small percentage of whom were back in their homes. And he repeated Belgrade's concern about the "complex" security situation since the beginning of 2003 in southern Serbia, near the towns of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, where peace and multi-ethnic institutions had earlier been established.
Speaking to reporters after his presentation, he welcomed the support he had received from members of the Permanent Council for Serbia's efforts to strengthen democracy and the rule of law.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed the threat still posed by organized crime to the security and economy in the region as a whole and in the European Union, primarily due to illegal trafficking in narcotics, weapons and people, and money laundering. "We must not allow criminals to manipulate patriotic feelings and to hide behind national flags", he said.
The growth of organized crime in the region was directly related to the collapse of the old social, political and economic system and strife between the old and the new economic, political and social reality, he added.
"The states within the region need the assistance of the international community in regard to co-operation, co-ordination and sharing of information to fight cross-border crime at a regional level", said Dr Covic. "We expect the OSCE could provide assistance in resolving this problem."