Belgrade, April 12, 2010

SERBIA

TADIC: WE WILL NOT FORGET SERBIA'S TRUE FRIEND
BELGRADE, April 10 (Tanjug) - President Boris Tadic has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Polish people and government, on the occasion of the plain crash near Smolensk on Saturday, in which President Lech Kaczynski and a large number of the country's officials lost their lives. "Do accept the most heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Serbian citizens and myself. This tragic event, in which President Kaczynski and other Polish officials died, has affected us deeply," Tadic's telegram reads. Tadic said that President Kaczynski was a true friend of Serbia and that this fact will never be forgotten. Prime Minister Cvetkovic, parliament speaker Djukic-Dejanovic, Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and other Serbian officials have also sent telegrams of condolences to Poland.

JEREMIC: COOPERATION WITH COLOMBIA IN FIGHT AGAINST CRIME
WASHINGTON/BOGOTA, April 10 (Tanjug) - Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has stated that he met with top Colombian officials in Bogota to discuss the establishing of close cooperation in the fight against organized crime, on which an agreement will soon be signed. "The most important topic of the talks with Colombian officials was the establishing of close cooperation between the two governments in the fight against organized crime. Colombia is a country that has made substantial progress in the past several years in combating production and trade in narcotics, and their experience will certainly be of use to us," Jeremic underscored. He added that they agreed that Deputy Prime Minister Ivica Dacic should visit Bogota soon, on the occasion of which a bilateral agreement between Serbian and Colombian governments on cooperation in the fight against organized crime will be signed. Jeremic stressed that the fight against organized crime is one of Serbia's top priorities. Jeremic met with his Colombian counterpart Jaime Bermudez, President Alvaro Uribe Velez and Vice-President Francisco Santos. According to Jeremic, the two countries' officials also discussed the improvement of economic, cultural, scientific and technical cooperation, as well as the forthcoming conference of the Non-Aligned Countries.

LJAJIC EXPECTS VERY POSITIVE REPORT FROM BRAMMERTZ
BELGRADE, April 9 (Tanjug) - The president of Serbia's National Council for Cooperation with the ICTY in The Hague, Rasim Ljajic, said that he is convinced the next report of Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz on Serbia's cooperation with ICTY will be "more than positive." Ljajic reiterated that the National Council is in regular contact with the Hague Tribunal, not limited to official visits such as the visit Brammertz plans for May before he submits his report to the UN SC. "We literally communicate on a daily basis and I am sure what the prosecution has will be enough for a more than positive cooperation report this June," Ljajic told Radio and Television of Serbia. Ljajic also said it is hard to predict when Hague fugitive Mladic could be arrested, but added that he is certain it will happen. "When Mladic is arrested, a great burden will be lifted from the Serbian people," Ljajic said.

CVETKOVIC: COMPETITION IN MARKET IS IMPORTANT
BELGRADE, April 12 (Tanjug) Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic stated that there is no doubt that the Serbian government should secure competition in the market since it will result in greater efficiency of the economy, predictable and attractive economic environment and better position of the consumers. Cvetkovic stated at the meeting on the očasion of the Competition Day that the Serbian government will introduce competition in many spheres that have so far been monopolized. He recalled that the competition has been introduced in the domain of telecommunication, while the monopoly in the oil derivatives market will be abolished as of January 1, 2011. Cvetkovic added that the competition is being introduced in the railway sector, whereas the market is being opened for the entrance of new electricity providers.Cvetkovic reminded that the Serbian government has adopted laws and bylaws that regulate the competition sphere, including the Law on the Protection of Competition, the Public Procurement Law and the Law on State Aid Control.

MARKOVIC: STATISTICAL REGIONS ARE NOT FRAGMENTATION OF SERBIA
BELGRADE, April 12 (Tanjug) - Minister for State Administration and Local Self-Government Milan Markovic stated that establishment of statistical regions in Serbia is aimed only at efficient attraction of funds from pre-accession funds of the EU, underscoring that this in no way precipitates new territorial organization of the country. In an interview Markovic underscored that an inappropriate political debate had been launched on the amendments to the Law on regional development, under which five statistical regions will be set up, and that it is out of question that such regions are an introduction to "Serbia's fragmentation," which is a theory that some opposition parties share. "Our territorial organization is established by the Constitution.No law may introduce a new form of territorial organization. Whether and when a regionalization of the country would be done, with regions as forms of territorial organization, is a question that should be decided primarily by citizens, because I do not believe that such a major topic could be included in the agenda without consulting the citizens. So, this requires changes of the Serbian Constitution," he said.

NORWEGIAN AMBASSADOR SATISFIED WITH SERBIAN JUDICIARY REFORM
UZICE, April 9 (Tanjug) - Norwegian Ambassador in Belgrade Haakon Blankenborg said in Uzice that he is satisfied with the results of the project dubbed Improving the Delivery of Justice in the Courts in Serbia, which was conducted by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry and the Serbian Justice Ministry. Visiting the Municipal Court and District Court in the western Serbian town, the Norwegian ambassador commended the reform of the Serbian justice system and pointed out that Norwegian donations targeted the priorities defined by the Serbian Justice Ministry. The acting presidents of the Municipal Court and District Courts in Uzice thanked Norway and pointed out that the donations to advance the work of the two courts totaled around EUR 65,000, adding that cooperation continue through new projects.

SERBIA – REGION

TADIC: DECLARATION DID NOT DETERIORATE RELATIONS WITH RS
LAKTISI, April 11 (Tanjug) - President Tadic stated that the adoption of the Declaration on the condemnation of the crime in Srebrenica at the Serbian parliament did not deteriorate relations between Serbia and Republika Srpska (RS). "This will certainly not have a permanent effect on the relations between the Serbian and RS representatives. We will continue to develop our special relations, and very soon a session will be held of Serbia-RS Joint Committee, whose job is to implement agreements and work on strengthening our relations," Tadic told the reporters in the town of Laktasi, near Banja Luka, RS. However, Tadic said that he understands RS's disapproval of the Serbian parliament's move, adding that the Declaration is undoubtedly useful for the Serb people. "I believe that this is of great significance for our people, wherever they may live - in RS, Montenegro or Croatia. The international position of Serbia, thereby the position of all the Serb people, is now more credible than before the adoption of the Declaration on the victims of Srebrenica," Tadic explained.Tadic, who attended the commemoration of the victims of Jasenovac concentration camp in Donja Gradina, northern BiH, said that the adoption of the Declaration by the Serbian parliament also encourages other countries to condemn crimes committed against Serbs.

TADIC: TALKS BEGUN IN OPATIJA WILL BE RESUMED
LAKTASI, April 11 (Tanjug) - President Tadic stated that he will resume the talks with his Croatian counterpart Ivo Josipovic in the following days, in order to find "some kind of" out-of-court solution regarding the genocide suits, filed by the two countries against each other before the ICJ. Tadic said that they will discuss the issues raised at their recent meeting in Opatija, Croatia, among which is the issue of suits. He told the journalists in Laktasi, RS, that the two countries want to try to reach some kind of out-of-court settlement regarding the suits for genocide that they filed against each other. Tadic could not say whether he will meet with Josipovic at the margins of the forthcoming Economic Fair in Mostar, taking into account that the Croatian president has still not confirmed his attendance. "I spoke with Ivo Josipovic several times in the past two days. We will also have the opportunity to meet at the trilateral meeting in Hungary. We will have one or two meetings in the following ten days in order to cover the topics that we discussed in Opatija," Tadic stressed. According to him, both Serbia and Croatia remain committed to preserving the integrity of BiH and finding a compromise solution to the difficulties that the country is experiencing.

DACIC: SERBIA SHOULD HAVE GOOD RELATIONS WITH EVERYONE
BELGRADE, April 11 (Tanjug) - Serbia should have good relations with all significant factors, and the only good foreign policy is the one promoted by the government and President Tadic, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated for daily Press published. Dacic believes that "Serbia has never had a good foreign policy in its history, since the country always dealt with problems in an emotional way, instead of taking care only of its own interests and national goals." He pointed out that the U.S. is interested in improving relations with Serbia, assessing that "it was a big mistake that, during the eighties, Serbia did not take the chance of becoming a regional leader, at the time when Milosevic had a crucial role in the signing of the Dayton Agreement." Dacic underscored that, at the time, the U.S. believed that Serbia was a factor of peace and stability, and added that these assessments did not last long "owing to many absurdities in Serbia's internal policy, primarily regarding the annulment of local elections, and later on regarding the disagreement on Kosovo-Metohija." He said that the Serbian MUP has a great cooperation with all U.S. security institutions, the FBI, CIA and DEA, as well as with the British SOCA, adding that in the past eighteen months a total of five tons of cocaine were confiscated based on MUP's information.

KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

LAJCAK: SLOVAKIA WILL NOT CHANGE STAND ON KOSOVO
CAGLAVICA, April 9 (Tanjug) - Slovakia recognizes Kosovo through the UN Resolution 1244, Slovakian Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak has told Kosovo officials in Pristina. This is a firm stand that Slovakia will not change, he told a news conference in Caglavica.Lajcak urged Kosovo authorities to respect Slovakia's stand, as that country respects the different stands of other countries on various issues.This stand is not hostile to Kosovo. On the contrary, Slovakia will provide active assistance and has already realized 20 projects in Kosovo, he said. After signing an agreement on Slovakia's assistance in the return of IDPs to the Musnikovo village, Lajcak said he believes in the Euro-Atlantic perspective of WBalkan countries.The time has come to consider essential issues, he noted.Being obsessed with symbols and status leads nowhere.Focus should be placed on the job that must be done, Lajcak added. Slovakia is here to provide support and offer its experience and expertise, he said. Slovakia can and will do much for the people of Kosovo, he noted. Slovakia has a mission in Kosovo, issues visas, recognizes travel and other personal documents, he said. Lajcak also visited the Caglavica Media TV studio built with Slovakia's help.