Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia: daily survey of 3 June 2009

REPUBLIC OF SERBIA - MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 CZECH REPUBLIC SUPPORTS RAILWAY CORRIDOR 10 IN SERBIA

SERBIA

JEREMEIC: WE MANAGED TO PREVENT MASSIVE KOSOVO RECOGNITION

SAN PEDRO/ HONDURAS, June 3 (Tanjug) - Serbia has managed to prevent a massive recognition of Kosovo independence at the 39th Regular Session of the Organization of American States (OAS), and the majority of Latin American countries continue to be on the side of Serbia, Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has told Tanjug. The Serbian foreign minister, who heads a Serbian delegation to the OAS Regular Session in Honduras, pointed out, however, that one should not rule out the possibility of individual acknowledgements. What is extremely important is that in our meetings and talks with 20 delegations that are taking part in this gathering, we have managed to prevent a massive recognition of Kosovo, Jeremic stressed. "During our top-level talks, we have been told that the pressure on the countries of Central and South America has not lessened and that it was even possible that the pressure culminated here in Honduras causing a new wave of recognitions, but we have also been assured that in spite of all the pressure, the balance of forces in Latin America will be such that these countries will continue to support Serbia," the Serbian foreign minister underlined.

DJELIC SAYS CLAIMS OF FROZEN EU INTEGRATIONS NOT TRUE

BELGRADE, June 02 (Beta) Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic on June 2 dismissed claims that Serbia’s European integrations were frozen, but also said the process was now more difficult for all potential members due to the ongoing economic crisis. Addressing MPs in parliament, Djelic said that Serbia was faced with a political condition in the form of full cooperation with the Hague tribunal, stressing that the U.S. official position as of June 1 was that Serbia was fully cooperating with the tribunal. Djelic also said that the issue of implementing the Interim Trade Agreement with Serbia will be launched at the June 15 session of the EU Council of Ministers, but added that did not mean the Netherlands would cease to insist on the meeting of conditions regarding the arrest of Ratko Mladic. MPs pointed out to Djelic that he had given deadlines both for visa regime liberalization and Serbia’s accession to the EU several times and criticized him for that. Djelic replied that Serbian officials did not just throw deadlines around but made such forecasts according to statements by several foreign officials, who had "expected a positive effect."

DACIC: SERBIA IS NOT HAVEN FOR CRIMINALS

BELGRADE, June 2 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said Tuesday that Serbia will not be a haven for foreigners who have committed a felony, summoning all neighboring countries to share his stand. At a presentation of the magazine Policija Danas (Police Today) and redesigned website of the Interior Ministry, Dacic confirmed that the arrested Zeljko Milovanovic, suspected of Ivo Pukanic’s murder, has three citizenships, that large quantity of weapons was found in his rented flat and that an investigation is being carried out in order to uncover all contacts and motives of his criminal activity. Dacic said that Milovanovic is now in the hands of justice and that he will not be handed over to Croatia, given that the two countries do not have an agreement on extradition, reiterating that Milovanovic had already been charged with several criminal offences. Dacic recalled that during his recent visit to Croatia he had suggested that a regional coordination centre for information exchange should be set up in Belgrade, since he believes that this is a prerequisite for successful fight against corruption and crime. LJAJIC ASKS FOR ICTY INDICTEES TO SERVE SENTENCES IN SERBIA

BELGRADE, June 02 (Beta) Head of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal Rasim Ljajic on June 2 once again requested of U.N. Secretary General Ban Kimoon that individuals convicted by the tribunal be allowed to serve their sentences in the former Yugoslav republics of which they are citizens. Ljajic told BETA that he sent the request to the secretary general on June 2. "We guarantee maximum security in the prisons that would hold the convicts and we pledge they would not be granted the right to premature release without the tribunal’s consent," Ljajic said. According to him, 17 countries have already signed an agreement according to which the Hague tribunal indictees can serve sentences in their jails, while Serbia would be the 18th country. "That agreement does not mean that all convicted Serbian citizens would serve their sentence in Serbian jails, but some would," Ljajic said, adding that Serbia was ready to take in other convicts as well.

SUTANOVAC: WE COMPLY WITH DECISION ON MILITARY NEUTRALITY

BELGRADE, June 02 (Beta) Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac on June 2 stated that his ministry complies with the Serbian parliament’s decision on military neutrality, but also reminded that Serbia has been a member of the Partnership for Peace program since November 2006. Sutanovac said in the parliament that the military maneuvers in Georgia, held from May 9 to June 1, were organized within the Partnership for Peace program, and not NATO. Asked by the Serbian Radical Party MP Boris Aleksic who had made the decision about Serbia’s participation in the maneuvers in Georgia, and why the decision, which was later withdrawn, was kept hidden from the public, Sutanovac stated that, at the moment when the offer for Serbia’s participation had arrived from Brussels, it was not known where the maneuvers would be held. Sutanovac also stated that Serbia had first accepted the invitation, but later on decided not to send two officers to the maneuvers, for political reasons as well as due to budget reduction. Asked by MP Aleksic why Serbia had sent weapons to Georgia, the country which had confronted Russia, Sutanovac said that no one had helped support any political regimes. The minister answered the Liberal Democratic Party’s criticism by saying that Serbia’s defense system cooperates well with the U.S., underlining that the defense system is not an obstacle to Serbia’s path towards European integrations.

BRADIC AND KASIPOVIC ON JOINT CULTURAL PROJECTS

BANJA LUKA, June 2 (Tanjug) - Serbian Minister of Culture Nebojsa Bradic met in Banja Luka on Tuesday with Republika Srpska (RS) Minister of Education and Culture Anton Kasipovic, and discussed with him the issue of cooperation in the field of culture and joint projects, which are supposed to include other partners from the region and Europe. Bradic said that the issue of protection of Serbs’ cultural heritage in the region represented an important matter which had been discussed at the recent conference on cultural policy and protection of cultural heritage in Belgrade. "We have already discussed the issue with the Croatian minister of culture, and in the near future we plan to meet with the representatives of the other ministries in the region to talk about this," Bradic noted. He said that one of the topics of the meeting with Kasipovic had also been cooperation in the field of publishing, presentation of RS and Serbian literature, which, as he put it, represented an important field in the work of the two ministries and the ties that existed between RS and Serbia. "We will try to make significant progress in presenting our joint projects in this field and our literature at numerous fairs in the region and throughout the world," Bradic said, and pointed out to the importance of joint programmes dealing with theater production, filmmaking, visual art, music.

SERBIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER CONFERS WITH UNICEF OFFICIAL

BELGRADE, Jun 2 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic conferred Tuesday with the newly appointed UNICEF Director for Central and Eastern Europe and Community of Independent States Steven Allen. Allen pointed to the importance of adoption of laws for protecting children’s rights and of monitoring of their enforcement. The Serbian parliament has made great progress in this regard, especially by creating a working group for children’s rights which works on the basis of UNICEF recommendations, he said.

OBRADOVIC: NUMEROUS OBSTACLES TO ROMA EDUCATION

BELGRADE, June 2 (Tanjug) - Serbian Education Minister Zarko Obradovic warned Tuesday that the majority of Roma children in Serbia are facing a series of obstacles in the education sphere and that it is difficult for them get involved in the processes of the majority population. The experiences of other countries are very important for the Education Ministry’s efforts to lift these obstacles and to secure equal conditions for the development and education of the Roma children, Obradovic stated, recalling that the biggest problems of the Roma are poverty, discrimination, insufficient social support and the lack of the respect of differences. Speaking at the opening of a two-day conference on lifting the barriers in the education of the Roma children, Obradovic recalled that the main strategic goals in the education sphere are: the inclusion of the Roma into all levels of the education system, continuity in education, quality schooling, respect of differences. Obradovic recalled that since 2006, the number of Roma children in pre-school institutions has increased to seven percent, Roma assistants for supporting Roma pupils have been engaged, a new procedure for facilitating enrollment into elementary schools has been introduced, and efforts are being made to secure protection against discrimination and violence. The World Bank estimates that between 450,000 and 500,000 Roms live in Serbia. Roma organizations speak about even greater numbers, while official statistics place a little over 100,000 Roma in Serbia. The head of the European Commission mission to Serbia, Josep Lloveras, Macedonian Minister without portfolio Nezdet Mustafa and Simon Grey from the World Bank’s office in Serbia are some of the participants of the two-day conference in Belgrade, organized by the Human and Minority Rights Ministry and the Education Ministry.

SERBIA – ECONOMY, FINANCE

DEFENSE INDUSTRY HAS GREAT POTENTIAL, SAYS SUTANOVAC

BELGRADE, June 02 (Beta) Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac on June 2 said he expected the domestic defense industry, despite the global economic crisis, to manage to repeat last year’s success, when it exported weapons and military equipment worth US$400 million to foreign markets. Opening the Partner 2009 Weapons Fair at the Belgrade Fairground, Sutanovac recalled that last year’s exports were the highest since 1991, adding that he hoped the trend would continue. He also voiced satisfaction with the fact that 74 participants from 13 countries are taking part in this year’s fair and added that it is a great increase compared with the 22 participants who showcased their programs at the first fair five years ago. Speaking of the government’s decision to pour public companies’ profit directly into the budget, Sutanovac said the decision was not final. According to him, the option is being considered to reinvest a portion of the money earned in weapons sales through the company Jugoimport SDPR in the reconstruction of weapons factories. The Partner 2009 Fair opened on June 2 and will last until June 5.

FAVORABLE LOAN FOR ROAD CONSTRUCTION AGREED WITH TURKEY

ISTANBUL, June 2 (Tanjug) - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Mladjan Dinkic agreed in Istanbul today on a favorable loan of up to EUR 25 million for the construction of two regional roads in Sandzak, Ministry of Economy said in a statement. At a meeting with Director of Turk Eximbank Ahmet Kilidzoglou, Dinkic reached an agreement in principle on a favorable loan, which will be used for the construction of the main road Novi Pazar-Sjenica, regional road Novi Pazar-Tutin and one bridge. It was said in a statement that technical details of the loan will soon be agreed, while the works are expected to start this fall. The construction of roads and other infrastructure in underdeveloped regions will create conditions for new investments, which are the driving force of regional development, it was said in the statement.

GERMANY HAS INVESTED EUR700 MILLION IN SERBIA SINCE 2000

BAJINA BASTA, June 02 (Beta) German Ambassador to Serbia Wolfram Maas said on June 2 that Germany has invested EUR700 million in Serbia, as part of the bilateral cooperation since 2000. at a ceremony marking the beginning of revitalization of the Bajina Basta hydroelectric plant on the Drina River in Perucac, Maas pointed out that the biggest chunk of those funds some EUR350 million were invested in Serbia’s energy sector. "The goal is to back Serbia, as a member of the southeast energy community, in its efforts to ensure more efficient production and consumption of energy, and to aid the country in implementing European environmental standards," Maas said. He underscored that, with help from the development bank KfW, Germany will continue to support Serbia in the use of environmentallyfriendly energy resources. Maas went on to say that the German government would also invest EUR70 million in the revitalization of the Zvornik hydroelectric plant, also located on the Drina. The reconstruction of the Bajina Basta hydroelectric plant, worth EUR65.5 million, started on June 2. The revitalization of four power units in the 42yearold plant will last until 2013.

CZECH REPUBLIC SUPPORTS RAILWAY CORRIDOR 10 IN SERBIA

NOVI SAD, Jun 2 (Tanjug) - Vojvodina Premier Bojan Pajtic and President of the Czech parliament economic committee Jan Hajda agreed Tuesday on prospects for investing in a pan-European railway Corridor 10 through Serbia. The Czech delegation said that closer economic cooperation on that project could be established next year through the Czech Export Bank Investing in transport infrastructure is one of the ways of alleviating the recession, it was noted at the meeting, attended also by Czech Ambassador to Serbia Hana Hubackova. Vojvodina, as a European region, wants to contribute to Serbia’s accession to the EU, Pajtic said, pointing to the importance of the Czech Republic’s support during its EU presidency to visa liberalization for Serbia.

For further information:

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Serbia