14.02.2010.
President Tadic for Odbrana magazine
In an interview to ODBRANA magazine, given on occasion of the Day of the Serbian army, 15 February which is also the Statehood Day, President Tadic sent some key messages to the public regarding the reforms of the defense system, Kosovo issue, Serbia’s relations with the NATO etc.
Key reforms started in 2003 when we first defined strategic course of reforms, and after eight years I can safely say that much has been done. After this mid-term period we are finally nearing some concrete results. All this requires constant reform, constant reconsidering of the accomplishments already made and what has to be done to repair such a delicate system of as the defense system which directly affects the security of our citizens.
The key messages are that we have done much, that the reforms are yielding excellent results and great leaps forward, our participation in UN missions raises our credibility. And the responsible, predictable policy of peace makes Serbia a reliable partner.
European integrations are the necessary precondition for the peace in the Balkans, as burdened with a heavy historical legacy; we should attack shared problems and not each other.
What are the priorities in developing our defense system?
2010-20111 has long been seen as the turning point in the reforms of the defense system, it was marked as the period when our key goals should be finally reached, which means adopting strategic defense documents, full professionalization of the army, participation in UN missions, and establishing a higher interoperability level. All this started back in 2003. Our public, which is not interested in strategic documents, should only care whether the army is professional and whether we will cancel compulsory conscript service. I believe that we will have a fully professional army in 2011.
It would be interesting to hear your comparison of the defense system from the period when you were the minister of defense with today’s system. What are some long-term plans?
I have to say that we have taken huge steps in improving our army. In 2003 we faced a sort of a military anachronism, an obsolete military system that no longer existed in Europe, as our army relied on compulsory military service and conscripts with a completely different relation between the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense. It was not a modern army, and we did not have many sectors we have today which additionally reduced our army’s interoperability.
We launched reforms at a moment particularly delicate after the assassination of Prime Minister Djindjic which caused our country to lose international credibility as this was a terrorist act of organized crimes and those state structures involved in it. So, in 2003 we defined some key strategic goals which we are slowly reaching today. The world today is not what it used to be in 2003, even the security standards have changed, with the countries all over the world slowly abandoning those existing in 2003. This is because technology saw huge advancements and the security challenges mutated. Serbia was not an independent state then, we were not a land-locked country, the SM State Union had a navy, which entailed regional control of part of the Adriatic Sea. Furthermore, we had no global crisis on our hands, as economic parameters registered constant growth.
As reagrds President Boris Tadi? said that Kosovo would never become a member-state of the United Nations without Serbia’s approval.
“This fact alone speaks clearly that without Serbia, the problem of the future status of Kosovo cannot be solved,” Tadic said, adding that the idea of forcing Serbia into a corner with a plan for a sped up recognition of Kosovo independence is not giving any results.
He added that Serbia is for these reasons posing the Kosovo question before the international institutions—the UN Security Council and, International Court of Justice—adding that in the end, a constructive, peaceful, sustainable, and bilaterally acceptable solution must be found.
Tadic added that after the ICJ decision, Serbia will decide what legal and diplomatic steps it will take, but repeated that Serbia will never accept the plan of Martti Ahtisaari.
“I deeply believe in negotiations and dialogue and other political obligations, in non-violent methods, a peaceful and rational process. All who believe that another route exists are very wrong. Without negotiations and dialogue and a compromise by both sides, there is no solution,” Tadic said, adding that the politicians urging Pristina to refuse compromise and dialogue are making a mistake.
Speaking on the Srebrenica resolution, Tadic said that it is the moral obligation of Serbia towards a crime that has become an international symbol of evil on the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
“When we do this, we will be able to expect that the same principle to be valid for other countries and nations whose people committed crimes against Serbs. That question will be on the daily agenda as well,” Tadic said.
He reminded that the parliament adopted a resolution on military neutrality and that the current government will not change that.
Tadic said that no one can condition NATO membership on the road to European Union membership.
“In the Partnership for Peace program, there is a lot of room in which Serbia can make concrete use of it for itself and for its military,” Tadic said.
He criticized the political parties that are deceiving the citizens by focusing on negative emotions related to NATO, who also lied, saying that the signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU would mean that Serbia is recognizing and accepting Kosovo independence.
“These same people are trying to trick the citizens today, claiming that someone wants to pass a decision behind their backs for entering NATO, because only in such an atmosphere of fear and general lack of trust do their politics stand a chance. This has a lot to do with their lack of courage to say what they really want—a referendum against the entrance of Serbia into the EU,” he said.
