12.11.2010.
Military Security Agency Director's interview to DANAS
ARMY IS NOT HIDING RATKO MLADIC
None of the ICTY fugitives - Ratko Mladic nor even Goran Hadzic – are hiding in the buildings that are under the control of the Ministry of Defense and the Army, and none of the members of the Ministry and the Army is in any way participating in their hiding, as Svetko Kovac, Director of the Military Security Agency (VBA) told Danas daily. He points out that the involvement of VBA to locate and arrest the Hague fugitives is one of the priorities of this agency.Are there any indications that Mladic was hiding in Novi Beograd in 2008?
- We receive a large number of data pointing to the alleged hideouts of the war crimes indictees and their security network from various sources on daily basis. As opposed to earlier periods, the methodology for the verification of this information has been greatly improved. All the data and indications are carefully checked and then we give our assessments and take action. There is good coordination between security services, as well as the regular exchange of information. As regards the information that Mladic was hiding in Novi Beograd in 2008, we cannot confirm this information.
Do you have info about Rade Bulatovic secretly and falsely accusing the Army to Carla del Ponte for having assisted in the hiding of Mladic?
VBA has so far primarily checked if the ICTY indictees were hiding in military facilities and whether members of the Army and the Ministry of Defense were providing support in any way. There have been instances that the military accused of harboring indictees. I can say that Mladic had left military installations on 1 July 2002, and since then we have had no indications that he has been in military facilities or apartments of the Army and the Ministry of defense members.
Do you think that the Serbian Government’s decision to increase the reward for any information on the Hague fugitives will contribute to the search?
- The decision to raise the reward offered for information leading to the tracking down of Mladic will have positive effects. This decision aims to demonstrate that the state is doing everything in its power to catch this particular fugitive. Furthermore, I must emphasize that we have not come across any impediments so far. All measures taken to find the Hague indictees are well coordinated, as well as all actions that happen, no matter how that might looks, with certain goals and effects.
How do you comment on the proposal for assessing the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Electronic Communications Act and the Acts on the Military Security and Military Intelligence Agencies?
- The Constitutional Court will decide whether the law on VBA and VOA, and the Law on electronic communications are n accordance with the Constitution or not. Any decision of the court will have to be obeyed by the Military Security Agency. We believe that the existing provisions of these laws are not contrary to the Constitution, because they do not provide into the content of communication and does not violate the confidentiality of correspondence and other means of communication. I must point out that all kinds of insight into the database remain recorded in the system, regardless of the security services. It is possible to check it any time and to determine who these services had applied these measures to. Also, for each of this measure we have to have a written order of Directors, based on which we can determine why the measure was applied. From the aspect of efficacy and preventive functions of the service, I think that a change in the existing solutions would decrease the responsiveness of the security services, especially when it comes to detecting indicators of terrorism, organized crime and other security threats. I believe that this measure should not be abolished, but should rather develop mechanisms to strictly control and sanction in case of abuse or violation of procedures.
What are the control mechanisms to rule out the possible abuse of the measures for collect data on telecommunications traffic, without access to the traffic?
- The first and most important mechanism are clearly prescribed procedures, starting with the filing of the request , to approval and issuance of an order for the implementation of orders, preparing reports and ways to use them and file them. The mechanisms providing direct access to the records and determining who, when, for whom and what kind of information someone had access to. By comparing these data with data kept in the agencies it can be relatively easy to spot any discrepancies. There is also a legal possibility that the mechanisms can be used by the representatives of legislative, executive and judicial powers, and for VBA even by the inspector general.
How to you store the documentation generated by the implementation of the said measures?
- The report on the results of the measures applied to collect data on telecommunications traffic, without having an insight into the traffic, is of operational and not process value. It is kept for the period of duration of the action within which a measure is applied and after it is destroyed. The VBA Directorate keeps records of all issued orders and they are, according to current regulations, kept for six years. Thus, if there are clear procedures for the implementation of measures and control mechanisms, it becomes complicated to abuse the measures. Control is primarily in the interest of the security services.
What are the main security threats and challenges?
- A potential threat is the possibility of an extremist and terrorist threat to the Serbian Army, specifically in the Ground Safety Zone. I must emphasize that this year we have had no cases of threats to GSZ. Furthermore, corruption and inadequate storing of explosive ordinance present a relatively low level threat. Corruption is often present in health care and military service. This year alone we have filed criminal charges against 172 people. Eight of them were members of the defense system and have charged with receiving bribes, while the rest are civilians who are suspected of giving bribes.
In terms of inadequate storing of explosive ordinance, I must point out that we have made progress in providing safe pyrotechnical storing of explosive ordinance. It is planned that by mid next year we will eliminate all ordinance from an open area.
How do you assess the security situation in the defense system?
- The security situation in the MoD and SAF is relatively stable. During this year there were no major security problems, and compared to the previous year we have significantly lower number of cases of misconduct and corruption. It is also not registered any case of organized criminal activity. Court proceedings and financial investigation of organized crime groups, which are alleged to have obtained an 300million RSD, 34 apartments in an unlawful manner and have committed 85 crimes are under way.
What is the greatest success, and the biggest failure of the VBA in 2010?
- The greatest success of VBA is the fact that the defense system had no major security problems. VBA is of course not the only one to be credited with this, but also other entities of the security-intelligence system and the Ministry of Defence of Serbia, in particular those of command and control. This year we completed the planning of the reforms initiated in 2002, so I consider the Military Security Agency to be a contemporary, modern and effective military security service, capable of protecting the defense system.
Preventive talk
The report you have submitted to the Defence and Security Committee this year, states you have spotted a low level of threat coming from MoD and VBA members who support various extremist fan groups. Have you filed any criminal or misdemeanor charges against these people?
- Last year there were thirty members of the Army and Ministry of Defense who were also members of extremist sport supporting or other extremist groups. Some of them were involved in incidents in stadiums and other violent actions. As the public already knows, against one of them we has filed a criminal complaint and this person is currently on trial. Furthermore, we have undertaken other primary preventive measures, i.e., where competent VBA personnel and commanders have already discussed this with them. The result is that this year we have not had any military personnel participating in the riots in stadiums or in other violent actions.
Jovan Pejcic
