04.03.2011.

White Paper on Defense of the Republic of Serbia presented to the public

The White Paper on Defense of the Republic of Serbia was today promoted at the Media Center "ODBRANA", made in the organization of the Strategic Planning Department of the Defense Policy Sector. The working team, led by Head of the Strategic Planning Department Major-General Dr Bozidar Forca, comprised the representatives of all organizational components of the Ministry of Defense, General Staff and the operational command of the Serbian Armed Forces.

The book preserves the tradition of the Serbian army and using the experiences of the latest and most advanced armies of the world, provides the basis for a democratic vision of the defense system of Serbia, and the promotion ceremony was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Defense of Serbia and the Serbian Army, military diplomatic representatives accredited in Serbia, and many experts in the security system in the society.

The White paper on Defense, its significance and contents, a document which inevitably linking past and present and provides a high quality and modern vision of future defense policy based on strengthening its own capacities, pro European foreign policy and cooperation with democratic and peaceful states , were all segments of the paper which the key speakers Undersecretary in the Ministry of Defense Zoran Jeftic and Dr. Tanja Miscevic, Major General Dr. Bozidar Forca, Head of the Strategic Planning and prof. Zoran Dragisic with the Faculty of Security Studies mentioned in their respective speeches.

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In the series of documents that regulate the system of defense, such as laws, bylaws, regulations, strategies and doctrines, the White Paper on Defense has a special place. It is not a law, or a strategy or a doctrine, but these documents serve as its basis, was what Undersecretary of Ministry of Defence Zoran Jeftic, PhD, stressed. It is a document which to the general domestic and international public, presents all processes, achievements and development visions of the defense of our country in a very transparent way.

Undersecretary Jeftic reminded the present that that the Republic of Serbia had rounded up the process of adopting strategic-doctrinaire and the normative-regulatory framework that determines the organization and functioning defense system during last year.

In her address to the guests, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence Prof. Dr. Tanja Miscevic stated that the White Paper was a generally accepted name for a document presenting information on a wide range of issues and solutions in the sphere of defense.

- The term "white" means that that all issues under consideration have been made transparent, making the objectivity and credibility of the data that it presents transparent as well. This term is an expression of efforts for the long tradition of concealing information defense and military –related issues to be replaced by a new concept of establishing mutual understanding and cooperation between countries, as well as contemporary approach to building international security order - said Dr. Tanja Miscevic.

Informing the public about the aims, activities and plans of defense, she added, is an integral part of the political culture of democratic governments and an important aspect of the democratic legitimacy of these societies. Further on in her address, as Secretary Miscevic stressed, observing the principles of transparency and openness are an indispensable criteria for integrating into wider security structures, and the White Paper is an important instrument for the once again confirming such commitment of our country.

Addressing the audience on behalf of the Working Team of the Ministry of Defence which created the White Paper, Major General Dr. Bozidar Forca pointed out that, by studying similar documents of the states "from east to west, with an emphasis on the White Papers on Defense of the neighboring countries and the Western Balkans , the authors realized that much of the foreign experience, organization and content could be well applied in drafting the White Paper on Defense of Serbia.

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The preamble of this important document states the key positions and opinions of Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac, and then the first part describes the provisions of the defense policy, based on the adopted policy documents and vision of the security environment, said General Forca. As for the second and third part of the White Paper, they are dedicated to the reform of the Ministry of Defence as the main task bearer of these reforms. Organizational and functional solutions in the defense system can be found in subsequent chapters of the book, which are also devoted to the institutions and units of the Ministry of Defense and the Army of Serbia, their duties and responsibilities in the defense system.

From the fifth to the eighth chapter, the White Paper on Defense deals with the resources of the defense system, mainly, human, materiel, research, scientific and financial resources. The ninth chapter speaks about International cooperation of the army, its participation in international missions and exercises, bilateral and multilateral cooperation with 60 countries from all continents and its role in arms control, while in the tenth chapter refers to the democratic and civilian control of he military, emphasizing the relationship between military and civilian society and military cooperation.

Finally, the White Paper concludes with a vision and projections of defense presenting a new system of values. Therefore, the focus of the White Paper is on the professional army, an army capable to effectively perform the tasks assigned in all three missions of the army and respond to the challenges and threats to peace, as Major General Bozidar Forca concluded.

Speaking about the White Paper on Defence, Professor of the Faculty of Security Studies, Zoran Dragisic said that since Serbia became an independent state in 2006, the Serbian Army has done much to change its profile and has significantly opened up to the civil society, academic community of Serbia and the media. While the Army was previously isolated from the institutions of society, and while the debates on the civil and democratic control were only held by the academic community and civil society, today this is no longer a topic of discussion, said Dragisic, as the Serbian Armed Forces are under full civilian and democratic control today.

As regards the civil-military cooperation, Dragisic stressed that this has become a rising trend and that "the cooperation with the academic community is excellent", stressing especially the cooperation of the Faculty of Security Studies and the Military Academy, especially after the Military Academy has been accredited as university-level education institution and its incorporation into the educational system in Serbia . He added that military personnel make up the majority of graduate students at the Faculty of Security. Furthermore, Dragisic said that what the important thing was that the public discussion had been initiated on every law, bylaw, strategic document on the military involving members of NGOs. He finally underlined that the Serbian Armed Forces are successfully working towards European integration and if other parts of society were to keep up with the defense system’s pace, Serbia would be a much better state.