SERBIA – REGION

TADIC: RESOLUTION 1244 SHOULD BE FULLY OBSERVED
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - President Tadic said that Serbia will not give up on its principled stand that Kosovo Albanian representatives can be represented at international forums only in keeping with Resolution 1244, that is as UNMIK-Kosovo. "Serbia does not accept and it does not recognize the independence of Kosovo, and it shall not recognize it, so there is no need for anyone to try to persuade it to do that or blackmail it, because that is an impossible mission," Tadic said. Serbia's participation in the regional conference that should take place in Brdo pri Kranju, in Slovenia, depends solely on whether the representatives of Kosovo Albanians will be represented there in keeping with Res 1244, Tadic reiterated. "If this conference takes place without the presence of Serbia, no one will have the right to accuse us, as we presented loud and clear out principled position at the very beginning and everyone knows under which conditions Serbia would accept to take part in the event," the president underlined. "It is therefore completely superfluous, and if I may say inappropriate, to have certain international officials, whether they be rapporteurs of the EP or someone else, lecturing at Serbia about what it should do in that respect," said Tadic. Commenting on the evaluations that when it comes to Kosovo, Serbia should recognize the actual state of things, Tadic reminded that there is more than one reality: one is the fact that the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo do not want to live under the sovereign roof of the Serbian state, and the other that the Serbs in Kosovo do not want to live under the sovereign roof of so-called independent Kosovo. The only way in which it is possible to reach a compromise and sustainable solution is to observe the interests of both sides. "We are ready to search for compromise through dialogue, once the ICJ has presented its (legal) opinion," said the president. He underlined that the tragic experience of Serbs and their pogrom in Kosovo six years ago represents a warning that adhering to violence continues to threaten the West Balkan region."The situation (in Kosovo) is still fragile. The freedom of movement of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija has been somewhat improved as of lately, but the situation is far from being sufficiently stable, and it is beyond any doubt that the conditions in which our fellow-citizens live are worse than any other nation can experience in other parts of the European continent. The Serb people in Kosovo are absolutely the most imperiled people in today's Europe," Tadic cautioned.

PAHOR CONFERS WITH TADIC IN BELGRADE
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Slovenia's Prime Minister Borut Pahor met with President Tadic in Belgrade, Tanjug learned from the president's cabinet. The media in Slovenia have reported on the meeting, at which, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA), Pahor and EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule tried to ensure Tadic's presence at the conference in Brdo pri Kranju, which is scheduled to take place later this week. Tadic reiterated that Serbia's participation in the regional conference in Slovenia depends solely on whether the representatives of Kosovo Albanians will be represented in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.

KACIN: SERBIA TO DECIDE ON ITS OWN WHETHER TO PARTICIPATE
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - EP rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin assessed that the conference at Brdo pri Kranju will be a meeting of the most responsible political leaders of the Western Balkans, adding that Serbia should decide on its own whether to participate in it. Serbia will make a decision on its own and no pressure is being exerted on the country, Kacin said after the talks with Justice Minister Snezana Malovic. Serbia must determine what is in its best interest, and my opinion is that the participation in the conference it is in interest of Serbia, the region and EU, he added. He said that President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy is ready to attend the meeting in order to directly receive and then convey the positive message to the EU heads of state and government. Kacin believes that the meeting at Brdo pri Kranju is a meeting of the most responsible political leaders of the future Western Balkans and that, therefore, the presence of the representatives of all Balkan countries is significant for the acceleration of the process of EU accession and improvement of relations between the regional countries. What we need positive energy and not some excuses which are aimed at undermining such an event, Kacin underscored.

SEJDIU: PARTICIPATION IN SUMMIT ONLY UNDER EQUAL CONDITIONS
PRISTINA, March 18 (Tanjug) - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu stated upon his return from Brussels, where he had a meeting with the ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) member states, that he will take part in the meeting of the Western Balkan leaders in Slovenia only under the same conditions as the delegations of other countries, the Albanian news agency ATA reported from Pristina.

SERBIA – EU

MALOVIC: FURTHER STEPS IN JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORM WITH EU
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Justice Minister Snezana Malovic stated that she has presented all that has been done so far in the reform of the justice system in Serbia and fight against organized crime and corruption to European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule. "We would like to take each new step in the reform together with our partners in the EU and in the following days we will arrange meetings to discuss the issue," Malovic told. Malovic pointed out that she is very satisfied with meeting with Fule and added that they reached an agreement on the future joint steps. Malovic underscored that the reform of the justice system including the general election of judges is not over yet since that is only one of its aspects, adding that the reform also involves changes in the procedure and the organization of work as well as in the minds of the people.

MALOVIC & KACIN: LEGAL STATE IS PREREQUISITE FOR EVERYTHING
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Serbia wants to go in the direction of European integration and have an active dialogue with the EU and the European Parliament (EP) on that path, Justice Minister Snezana Malovic said after a meeting with EP Rapporteur for Serbia Jelko Kacin, who is currently in Belgrade. Kacin congratulated the justice minister on everything that she and her team, aided by the government and parliament, have done in turning Serbia into a real state and creating conditions for an efficient application of the rule of law, as well as in preparing the country for EU accession. One of the conditions which the country has to fulfill in order to join the EU, according to him, is to fully cooperate with The Hague Tribunal. The finalization of this cooperation will enable the unfreezing of the EU SAA, he added.Only this can enable a positive report on Serbia's progress, Kacin said, and pointed out that last year it was impossible to even include the issue in the EU agenda because the country's cooperation with the ICTY was insufficient. He believes that it is clear to everyone than no European institution can discuss Serbia's application for EU candidate status until the process of the SAA ratification begins. It is simply not possible to skip certain phases, he stressed. This visit and the following talks with War Crimes Prosecutor Vladimir Vukcevic are part of the efforts to create conditions which will really be better, which will present Serbia in a better light, and which will make everyone realize that the only right path is the legal path and that a legal state is the prerequisite for everything else, Kacin underlined.

SERBIA

TADIC: ORGANIZED CRIME HAS TO BE DESTROYED
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - President Tadic stated that Serbia and all its institutions are determined to fight organized crime, which along with groups of sports hoolingans and ethnic Albanian terrorist organizations in Kosovo, represents the greatest threat to national security. "The question is whether Serbia will be a society based on law, in which all citizens will be protected, or if it is going to suffer from chronic destabilization, crime and everything else that undermines the rule of law. I believe that we have no alternative policy and that a determined fight against organized crime is the responsibility of all top officials of the government," Tadic told Tanjug. "Serbia cannot allow the organized crime to spread, particularly drug trafficking, which poses the most danger to a society. That type of crime has to be destroyed," Tadic said. Tadic believes that rooting out organized crime is one of his most important personal missions as the president of Serbia. "There is no chance that I will give up, and members of organized crime know that very well," Tadic said. Asked to comment the fact that his invitation to the region's countries to launch a joint fight against organized crime was received in Montenegro as undermining the country's independence, Tadic said that those were provocations that came from a certain number of Montenegrin politicians. "This kind of terminology, implying that Serbia jeopardizes Montenegro's independence, is always used when there is some political profit to be gained from it in Montenegro, before elections for instance. No one in Serbia intends to endanger Montenegro's independence," Tadic said, adding that he went to Montenegro after the referendum on independence and accepted the results as completely legitimate. He underscored that the fight against organized crime is an area in which the two countries have to cooperate. "I do not accuse anyone in Montenegro, nor do I have the right to do something like that. I do not find it beneficial. I only ask for the standard of communication between countries to be observed in the fight against organized crime," Tadic said.

TADIC CONGRATULATES DAY OF MILITARY ACADEMY
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - President Tadic congratulated to the Serbian Military Academy their anniversary - March 18 and 160 years of their existence. "I wish to congratulate you on your anniversary, I wish you to reach the top European standards in the education of officers by the reform of the military education and guide them in keeping with Serbian tradition toward true values of the Serbian people," the president said in his congratulations note. Tadic said that after 160 years of education of officers, the Military Academy, as one of the oldest pillars of education in Serbia, has managed to resist all challenges that time can bring by constant reforms and modification of education programs and thus made a 160-years long tradition that meets the highest standards of the education of officers. "The Military Academy is nowadays recognized as a modern, efficient and functional education system which is completely in keeping with the requirements of education and scientific work in the domain of Serbia's defence and security," Tadic said in his congratulations note published on the website of the Serbian Ministry of Defence.

DEJANOVIC: SREBRENICA RESOLUTION TO BE ADOPTED IN MARCH
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Serbian parliament speaker Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic stated that the text of the Srebrenica resolution has not been finished yet, but she expressed expectation that the document will be adopted in March. She said that the parliamentary groups are working intensively on the text, and added that next week she will call a meeting of the National Assembly where a joint position on the content of the resolution should be reached. There is no final text of the resolution. There are various possible versions, and when the final one is completed, the session on the matter will promptly be scheduled, Djukic-Dejanovic told in the parliament's building. She explained that the current session will be finished early next week, and that after that she will schedule a session at which the resolution on Srebrenica will be discussed. Djukic-Dejanovic specified that the MPs of the ruling parties, who will propose the document after it has been finished, have "two or three versions" of the text, adding that they are being discussed with MPs of the rest of the parties. She assessed that the MPs of the "For European Serbia" are most active in the discussion and that they are communicating with all the other MPs regarding the issue.

SERBIA & UK COOPERATE IN FIGHT AGAINST TRANSNATIONAL CRIME
LONDON, BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic and Director General of the British Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA) William Hughes signed a Memorandum of Understanding on fight against organized crime in London. The Memorandum, signed on the behalf of the Serbian Ministry of Interior (MUP) and the SOCA, is related to the improvement of the police cooperation in fight against illegal drug trade, illegal migrations, money laundering, illegal gun trade, high-tech crime and fraud. Hughes expressed satisfaction with the cooperation, and stressed that the SOCA carried out a number of successful operations with the Serbian Service for fight against organized crime. The operations resulted in tracing and arresting number of organized criminal groups which dealt with illegal drug trade, high-tech crime, money laundering and other forms of serious crime, he said. Hughes stressed that the cooperation which has been realized so far brought very positive results in the fight against organized crime, not only in the region, but across the world as well, the MUP has released in a statement. He added that great amounts of drugs were confiscated across the world thanks to the information the Serbian Police gave to British and other world agencies, the statement reads.

DACIC EXPECTS EASIER VISA LIBERALIZATION TALKS
BELGRADE, March 18 (Tanjug) - Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said that he broached the topic of abolishing British visas for Serbian citizens and that he expects the talks will be much easier in the future. "I was told that Britain will re-evaluate its visa policy for certain countries in 2011," Dacic said after his meeting with Britain's Home Secretary Alan Johnson. Dacic added that Serbia failed the last evaluation in 2007, primarily because it had not yet started issuing safer, biometric passports, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. "Serbia has met all of the Schengen criteria, so we expect future visa liberalization talks with Great Britain to be much easier," he said.

BRADIC AND VU OPEN DAYS OF SERBIAN CULTURE IN BEIJING
BEIJING, March 18 (Tanjug) - A manifestation named 'Days of Serbian Culture in China' was opened in the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, with the message of Culture Minister Nebojsa Bradic that "every encounter with friends is precious, especially when there is an opportunity to present one's own culture." Together with the host, Chinese Culture Minister Cai Vu, Bradic opened the manifestation which will last by March 24, and the Chinese audience will be able to see Serbian folklore and movie creativity, as well the achievements from the field of the country's applied arts. We now continue our creative communication, Bradic added, and stressed that with the Thursday presentation of the book "World Heritage of Serbia" the Serbian delegation wants to point out the country's cultural treasure which the UNESCO characterized as an extraordinary valuable heritage and thus put it on its World Heritage List. Bradic stressed that the book was published in Chinese as well, out of respect for the country's readers, and with special gratitude to China for the concern over endangered Serb monuments in Kosovo-Metohija. Bradic has said that a delegation from the ministry had a high level meeting, which was conducted in a pleasant atmosphere, adding that they discussed the possibilities of cultural cooperation between the two countries and the idea to establish cultural centres in Beijing and Belgrade. Bradic told that the two countries established a strategic partnership during Serbian President Boris Tadic's visit to China in 2009, which involves strengthening all types of relations.

POMEROY: CONGRESS NOT TO DISCUSS KOSOVO STATUS AGAIN
WASHINGTON, March 19 (Tanjug) - US Congressman Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota has said that the American Congress will not discuss the status of Kosovo again, regardless of the fact that Belgrade disagrees with the province's independence. Pomeroy paid a visit to Belgrade in mid February, where he met with Deputy Prime Minister Djelic and the country's parliament speaker Djukic-Dejanovic. As Vice President Biden has said: we will agree to disagree on this matter. I was very direct when I told my collocutors that, regardless of discrepancies with Belgrade, Kosovo's independent status and its current border are not the issues to be discussed again by the Congress, Pomeroy told the Voice of America.