25.05.2009.
Minister of Defence interview to “Politika”
If people move out, fight for Kosovo is pointles
We cannot allow that due to diplomatic fight citizens on Kosovo bear sanctions in any way.
In which way US Vice-president Joseph Biden can help Serbia when it’s about Kosovo and Metohija, considering that USA are insisting on support towards self declared independent?US Vice-president Mr. Biden pointed out that their attitude considering Kosovo and Metohija’s independent will not be changed, but he also told in Prishtina that he will insist in creating civil democratic society with maximal respect of human and ethnic rights. We agree that we don’t agree over independence. Even though, I consider that it’s necessary to develop Kosovo and Metohia, as part of Serbia, in that way so the rule of justice could be established, economic prosperity enabled and to stop spreading organize crime, which almost always finance terrorism.
But still, they, admit unilateral independent.
Children in schools are learnt that if they can’t resolve first problem on their test it is better not to waste their time but to try to resolve other problems, and later to return on those things they skipped trying to find the solution. Every responsible politician at the end of his day should summarize how many problems he solved; in otherwise he won’t pass the test.
Is it possible to separate diplomatic fight for preserving Kosovo and Metohia and the question regarding safety of non-Albanian citizens?
I absolutely think that it is possible and necessary. We must not allow in any case that citizens of Kosovo and Metohia suffer the sanctions. Kosovo is Serbia as long as citizens who live in Kosovo are able to implement that. If they move out, diplomatic fight will be pointles. I wish to point out that, beside the diplomatic fight, we have to fight for better life of all citizens in Kosovo and Metohia, especially for those who are the most threatened, in other words non Albanians. According to the US Vice-president Biden`s speach, we are simply concluding that cooperation regarding better life is possible.
Are you ready to take the responsibility for solutions that you are standing for
At the end of the mandate we’ll all have verification by the citizens to see what we have done. And like a surgeon who can’t ask his patient every time how he thinks the operation should go, politicians has to take their part of responsibility so that at the end the operation would be successful. We, who took the responsibility, have to have clear vision and to agree over final outcome, and citizens show their trust to the ones they believe.
Are you afraid that someone would declare you as a traitor again, after the separate meeting with Mr. Biden?
Everything I do, I do in a full confidence that, if the problems wouldn’t be resolved by this generation of politicians, we will burden our children and their children also. I remind that during the nineties the traitor phrase was used so much that it is become totally trivial, so people who used it in daily-political fight for taking the power ended up in the same way – citizens didn’t trust them.
Do you think that you are somehow distinguished from the other top politicians because you were only one who had separate meeting with Mr. Biden?
Visit to the Ministry of Defence and meeting with the top management, is the confirmation that USA respects SAF and everything we do regarding reforms implementation and standard improving. Certainly this visit is historical for us because so far it didn’t happen that US Vice-president visits Ministry of Defence. I remind you that there were plenty of meetings of the MoD representatives with high officials of other countries, that Prime minister of Norway held press conference in the MoD during the visit in Serbia, as well as that delegations which I lead abroad were always accepted on the highest level. At the end of this week we will be visiting Austria, and the first meeting will be with the President of that country. Defence is, before all, a foreign policy argument and it is logical that it has special attention abroad, the question is why it wasn’t the case before!
Is there suitable coordination with other official institutions?
Not for a single moment, as a Minister of Defence I haven’t allowed myself to implement some kind of my personal policy. In coordination with other state institution we are tending to promote our country, defence system, our industry and culture in a best possible way, in the framework defined by the Parliament and by the Government. Debate about the strategy and military neutrality is setting up on the daily-political argument whether we are getting too much close to NATO or not.
Does that create problems in defining and implementing the strategy?
Partnership assumes self protection, as well as the partner’s interest. In political friendship everybody take care of their own interest first, there is no love. Ministry of Defence insists on partner relations and for that in the last two years we have signed large number of cooperation agreements in the defence field which allow us to define our military cooperation and to gain benefit on one partner principle.
What, exactly, military neutrality means for Serbia who stays surrounded by the NATO members?
It is impossible to consider isolated the safety of any country in the world. We have to find our role in the fight for maintaining global security. We cannot put our head in the sand so that threats go around us. Military neutral Austria doesn’t have the ballast with that question in the public, and at the same time it realizes full influence and protects its own interests trough the PfP. Watching from the safety point of view, the World has become a global village, and as fast we understand that, it will be easier for us to make decisions. Is the using of all PfP capacities, including sending soldiers in international peacekeeping operations, disturbance of military neutrality?
On the contrary. With the participation in the PfP Program and in peacekeeping missions in the World, our armed forces are gaining significance, and Serbia is showing that she wants to be partner in finding solutions for world’s challenges, risks and threats which puts us in the group of responsible countries. Not a single country in the region can fight against any kind of organized crime, religious fundamentalism, by itself. Appearance of extreme fundamentalists of which are someone even terrorist organized in Serbia, cannot be seen as single case, but in the context of contemporary processes in the world. If we don’t wish to have that kind of threats on our territory, we have to have completely understanding for the very same sentences that was spoken by Putin and Bush former Russian and American presidents, pointing out that they will protect safety interests of their countries wherever they would be threatened in the world, so that they would prevent those threats to come into their borders. I don’t see that anyone in Serbia today who have responsibility for the citizens, as well as for the country’s future, can disclaim that.
Dragan Janjic
