Dačić: Ready for crisis

Dacic: Ready for crisis Prior to his current position, he was co-minister for information in the interim government that lasted until January 2001. Following his collaboration with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Dacic turned the Socialists toward the Democrats, signed a controversial truce between these two left-wing parties and took his place in the seat of the interior minister. We had hoped to meet with Dacic while he was still a fresh face in the new government, after discussing the prospect of an interview with him at last year’s French National Day reception, but the interview only materialized now. Nevertheless, we haven’t forgotten his comment that the Socialists also benefited from stepping down from power. The main topics of the interview are the state of the police and Serbia's foreign policy. Basic criminal parameters, i.e. the number of murders, armed robberies and kidnappings, show that Serbia is a relatively safe country. What is worrying, however, is the number of people killed in traffic accidents, the existence of "sophisticated" organized crime and violence among children in schools. To what extent is the police capable of meeting these challenges? The police are capable of facing these challenges. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has written a draft of the Law on Traffic Safety and forwarded it to the relevant ministries in order for them to give their opinion about the draft. After that, the Government should adopt the draft of this law and send it to the National Parliament to be passed. Unfortunately, the number of traffic accidents will not go down as a result of this law being passed. We need to raise the level of driver awareness with regard to adhering to traffic regulations, as well as to revitalize our transport infrastructure. With regard to violence in schools, we are trying to prevent this from happening by introducing a school police officer assigned to thwart the violence. The percentage of attacks on pupils has gone down by 48% in schools which have a school policeman. Certain laws that regulate police work are still to be passed. Who is responsible for that and when will the Law on Basic Traffic Safety be implemented? As I sad before, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has made a draft of this law and sent it to the relevant ministries to be reviewed. If we are talking about other laws that regulate the work of the police, the Parliament has passed all laws that the Ministry proposed pertaining to Serbia’s inclusion on the White Schengen List, including laws like the Law on State Borders, the Law on Foreigners, the Law on Asylum, etc. How would you assess police co-operation with the prosecutor’s office and the courts, i.e. what do you think of the end results of police investigations and reports? I have said on many occasions that collaboration between all state authorities needs to exist, especially if we are talking about combating and fighting organized crime. Generally speaking, this collaboration is good, but of course there is still room for improvement. How would you appraise levels of co-operation between various police departments across the Balkans? Regional cooperation between the police departments of the Balkans is excellent. There are frequent exchanges of information needed to fight organized crime and other forms of crime. We have signed a trilateral agreement on police cooperation with Romania and Bulgaria, as well as a memorandum on co-operation with the Croatian police. We are also currently going through the procedure of appointing liaison officers or attaches in the countries of the former Yugoslavia. Do you think that Serbia will fulfill all conditions needed for the country to be included on the so-called White Schengen List in 2009; and why is the process of issuing new passports taking so long? All laws that are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been passed, while the strategies needed for liberalization of the visa regime that lie under our responsibility are being adopted as we speak. By doing this, the ministry will fulfil all prerequisites needed for Serbia to be included on the White Schengen List. However, other ministries need to do their jobs too. This government is doing everything in its power to meet the conditions needed for our country to be put on the list. With regard to the second part of your question, I would like to say that we did have certain problems at the beginning of issuing new passports and as a result the waiting time for new passports was somewhat longer than hoped. We applied certain measures in order to shorten queues and cut waiting times. We have installed a voice mail service which provides information about what documents people need to obtain ID cards and passports. We have also increased the number of people working on these jobs and extended working hours to 8pm, including Saturdays. Today we are issuing passports before the deadline stipulated by the law. We are continuously working on advancing this procedure, although the ministry doesn’t get a penny from doing that – not even to cover our basic costs. Police operatives have had bad experiences with the politicization of the police. What mechanisms are in place to prevent the police from being abused and are there still those branded as "politically unfit"? One of the basic principles for preventing misuse is having civil control over the police and the army, which can be implemented via the Parliament’s Defense and Security Committee. When I came to the ministry I made it clear that every employee would be given an opportunity and a time to prove himself. If you are a professional, you have no reason to fear for your job, regardless of your political beliefs. Is there any rivalry between your ministry, the Security and Information Agency (BIA) and other security services? No there is not. We cooperate well with all of them and have had concrete results from that cooperation. A good example of this is the police action in southern Serbia that saw us arrest the so-called Gnjilane Group. The action involved all relevant state and security structures. Speaking about organized crime, Dacic said that the police have systematically outlined their operative findings – intelligence data about crime groups and their members – as part of the work on the White Book. “We have finished our part of the work, but it is still a long way from getting to the courts. There is material evidence that needs to be collected. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, security services and the judicial system need to co-ordinate their work in order to get the right results”. “The White Book is not a book in the proper sense of the word and the Interior ministry, i.e. the police, do not need it because they already have information on organized crime groups. Other state authorities should get acquainted with this information. The contents of the White Book should not be released in the media, since that would compromise ongoing investigations. I would not like this book to have the same destiny as the last one (from 2002), which ended up in the media and, thus, had no practical benefit for the police,” Dacic said. Dacic reiterated that there were 30 to 40 criminal groups in Serbia at the moment, adding that they were mostly engaged in drug and arms trafficking, murders and money laundering. You want a new White Book to be written. Why do you want it to be classified as confidential this time around? What is the purpose of writing such a book?! Surely the police should simply provide evidence so that criminals can be brought to court. One of the priorities in 2009 is fighting organized crime. I have outlined several times that there is a difference between what the police know about organized crime and what is going to be written in the White Book. There is a huge difference between what we know and the facts that are needed to launch a serious prosecution. Hence, the White Book should not be a publicly available document. Rather, it should be intended for the eyes of the police and state services only. Combating organized crime cannot be handled by the police alone. This process needs to be accompanied by relevant laws and bylaws, as well as being given support by the judicial system, prosecution office and courts. We have enjoyed solid communication with the prosecution, but it is different with courts. Court cases can wait for years to be processed and sentencing can last just as long. During that time criminals are freely roaming the streets and we are subjected to criticism despite the police having nothing to do with that whatsoever. You are now in a position to know more than an ordinary citizen or another politician. Have you found any evidence that there were criminal activities going in the Serbian Government after the uprising of 5th October 2000? Opposition parties have claimed that all along, but nobody has been indicted as yet (with the exception of Janjusevic and Kolesar). Everybody who committed crimes that the police and the prosecution have evidence about should be brought to court, regardless of what political party they belong to. However, I would like to stress that we need to have concrete operative data and evidence to corroborate that, as opposed to merely empty stories. When you mention the election and reconstructing the Government, do you really think the time has come for the ruling coalition to become wider or do you think that some coalition partners are no longer reliable enough? There is always a possibility of the government being reconstructed, but that option would only be realized in the case that a parliamentary majority is lacking. Nobody is indispensable and every major political party in Serbia can co-operate with other parties. Theoretically speaking, the government’s reconstruction is possible, but the issue here is whose policy is closest to bringing all political wills together and not just putting the numbers together. Hundreds of thousands of people will be left without jobs at a time when new jobs should have been created and pensions have gone up. Is it possible to have a socially responsible state during an economic crisis and are we going to see our economy collapsing and the state going bankrupt again? The government has developed a package of certain economic and financial measures for overcoming this economic crisis. The incentives for the economy should lead to at least a slight growth in the national GDP. In addition to these incentives, the government is saving at all levels, i.e. cutting back on state costs, including those generated by public enterprises. Everybody in Serbia should get involved in overcoming the crisis: businessmen, employees, pensioners, political parties, etc. Following a year of negotiations, Serbia has finally concluded its energy treaty with Russia. How good is this deal for Serbia and what are the real reasons behind some people contesting this treaty? The recent gas crisis confirmed just how good this deal is. We really need to finish constructing the underground gas storage facility in Banatski Dvor in order to be ready for the next crisis. Gazprom is a Russian state-run company and a serious strategic partner that Europe depends to provide regular gas supplies. I wouldn’t like to comment on why some people are contesting the treaty. The most important thing is to implement all three projects envisaged by the gas arrangement that will hugely benefit Serbia. Did the gas crisis show that Serbia cannot rely on Russia alone and who is actually at the helm of the country’s energy policy? As I said, Serbia needs to meet all prerequisites to construct our own gas storage. This gas dispute is just one more reason to build the South Stream gas pipeline. The Government and the Ministry of Energy are those who implement the country’s energy policy. It seems as though the chances of Serbia gaining EU membership are growing more distant by the day, yet we will still unilaterally implement the Interim Trade Agreement to our financial detriment. Can you envisage Serbia becoming an EU member in the near future? I can’t agree with you that EU membership is far off. I think that in 2009 we need to concentrate and fully apply ourselves to getting Serbia included on the White Schengen List. If we manage to do that this year it would be an important milestone and a relief to all Serbian citizens. After that we can officially apply for EU membership. I am more in favor of continuously and successfully fulfilling the conditions for becoming an EU member, rather than forecasting which year that will happen. Who is your role model among Serbian and world leaders? I don’t have role models. This article originally appeared on the CorD website Ivica Dacic (Tanjug) The former spokesman of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and current party president, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, has been appointed a minister for the second time since October 5, 2000. Journalist: Vladan Alimpijevic "Regional cooperation between the police departments of the Balkans is excellent. There are frequent exchanges of information needed to fight organized crime and other forms of crime. We have signed a trilateral agreement on police cooperation with Romania and Bulgaria."

Dačić: Ready for crisis

Prior to his current position, he was co-minister for information in the interim government that lasted until January 2001.

Following his collaboration with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Dačić turned the Socialists toward the Democrats, signed a controversial truce between these two left-wing parties and took his place in the seat of the interior minister.

We had hoped to meet with Dačić while he was still a fresh face in the new government, after discussing the prospect of an interview with him at last year’s French National Day reception, but the interview only materialized now. Nevertheless, we haven’t forgotten his comment that the Socialists also benefited from stepping down from power. The main topics of the interview are the state of the police and Serbia's foreign policy.

Basic criminal parameters, i.e. the number of murders, armed robberies and kidnappings, show that Serbia is a relatively safe country. What is worrying, however, is the number of people killed in traffic accidents, the existence of "sophisticated" organized crime and violence among children in schools. To what extent is the police capable of meeting these challenges?

The police are capable of facing these challenges. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has written a draft of the Law on Traffic Safety and forwarded it to the relevant ministries in order for them to give their opinion about the draft. After that, the Government should adopt the draft of this law and send it to the National Parliament to be passed. Unfortunately, the number of traffic accidents will not go down as a result of this law being passed.

We need to raise the level of driver awareness with regard to adhering to traffic regulations, as well as to revitalize our transport infrastructure. With regard to violence in schools, we are trying to prevent this from happening by introducing a school police officer assigned to thwart the violence. The percentage of attacks on pupils has gone down by 48% in schools which have a school policeman.

Certain laws that regulate police work are still to be passed. Who is responsible for that and when will the Law on Basic Traffic Safety be implemented?

As I sad before, the Ministry of Internal Affairs has made a draft of this law and sent it to the relevant ministries to be reviewed. If we are talking about other laws that regulate the work of the police, the Parliament has passed all laws that the Ministry proposed pertaining to Serbia’s inclusion on the White Schengen List, including laws like the Law on State Borders, the Law on Foreigners, the Law on Asylum, etc.

How would you assess police co-operation with the prosecutor’s office and the courts, i.e. what do you think of the end results of police investigations and reports?

I have said on many occasions that collaboration between all state authorities needs to exist, especially if we are talking about combating and fighting organized crime. Generally speaking, this collaboration is good, but of course there is still room for improvement.

How would you appraise levels of co-operation between various police departments across the Balkans?

Regional cooperation between the police departments of the Balkans is excellent. There are frequent exchanges of information needed to fight organized crime and other forms of crime. We have signed a trilateral agreement on police cooperation with Romania and Bulgaria, as well as a memorandum on co-operation with the Croatian police. We are also currently going through the procedure of appointing liaison officers or attaches in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Do you think that Serbia will fulfill all conditions needed for the country to be included on the so-called White Schengen List in 2009; and why is the process of issuing new passports taking so long?

All laws that are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been passed, while the strategies needed for liberalization of the visa regime that lie under our responsibility are being adopted as we speak. By doing this, the ministry will fulfil all prerequisites needed for Serbia to be included on the White Schengen List. However, other ministries need to do their jobs too. This government is doing everything in its power to meet the conditions needed for our country to be put on the list. With regard to the second part of your question, I would like to say that we did have certain problems at the beginning of issuing new passports and as a result the waiting time for new passports was somewhat longer than hoped. We applied certain measures in order to shorten queues and cut waiting times.

We have installed a voice mail service which provides information about what documents people need to obtain ID cards and passports. We have also increased the number of people working on these jobs and extended working hours to 8pm, including Saturdays. Today we are issuing passports before the deadline stipulated by the law. We are continuously working on advancing this procedure, although the ministry doesn’t get a penny from doing that – not even to cover our basic costs.

Police operatives have had bad experiences with the politicization of the police. What mechanisms are in place to prevent the police from being abused and are there still those branded as "politically unfit"?

One of the basic principles for preventing misuse is having civil control over the police and the army, which can be implemented via the Parliament’s Defense and Security Committee. When I came to the ministry I made it clear that every employee would be given an opportunity and a time to prove himself. If you are a professional, you have no reason to fear for your job, regardless of your political beliefs.

Is there any rivalry between your ministry, the Security and Information Agency (BIA) and other security services?

No there is not. We cooperate well with all of them and have had concrete results from that cooperation. A good example of this is the police action in southern Serbia that saw us arrest the so-called Gnjilane Group. The action involved all relevant state and security structures.

Speaking about organized crime, Dačić said that the police have systematically outlined their operative findings – intelligence data about crime groups and their members – as part of the work on the White Book.

“We have finished our part of the work, but it is still a long way from getting to the courts. There is material evidence that needs to be collected. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, security services and the judicial system need to co-ordinate their work in order to get the right results”.

“The White Book is not a book in the proper sense of the word and the Interior ministry, i.e. the police, do not need it because they already have information on organized crime groups. Other state authorities should get acquainted with this information. The contents of the White Book should not be released in the media, since that would compromise ongoing investigations. I would not like this book to have the same destiny as the last one (from 2002), which ended up in the media and, thus, had no practical benefit for the police,” Dačić said.

Dačić reiterated that there were 30 to 40 criminal groups in Serbia at the moment, adding that they were mostly engaged in drug and arms trafficking, murders and money laundering.

You want a new White Book to be written. Why do you want it to be classified as confidential this time around? What is the purpose of writing such a book?! Surely the police should simply provide evidence so that criminals can be brought to court.

One of the priorities in 2009 is fighting organized crime. I have outlined several times that there is a difference between what the police know about organized crime and what is going to be written in the White Book. There is a huge difference between what we know and the facts that are needed to launch a serious prosecution. Hence, the White Book should not be a publicly available document.

Rather, it should be intended for the eyes of the police and state services only. Combating organized crime cannot be handled by the police alone. This process needs to be accompanied by relevant laws and bylaws, as well as being given support by the judicial system, prosecution office and courts. We have enjoyed solid communication with the prosecution, but it is different with courts. Court cases can wait for years to be processed and sentencing can last just as long. During that time criminals are freely roaming the streets and we are subjected to criticism despite the police having nothing to do with that whatsoever.

You are now in a position to know more than an ordinary citizen or another politician. Have you found any evidence that there were criminal activities going in the Serbian Government after the uprising of 5th October 2000? Opposition parties have claimed that all along, but nobody has been indicted as yet (with the exception of Janjušević and Kolesar).

Everybody who committed crimes that the police and the prosecution have evidence about should be brought to court, regardless of what political party they belong to. However, I would like to stress that we need to have concrete operative data and evidence to corroborate that, as opposed to merely empty stories.

When you mention the election and reconstructing the Government, do you really think the time has come for the ruling coalition to become wider or do you think that some coalition partners are no longer reliable enough?

There is always a possibility of the government being reconstructed, but that option would only be realized in the case that a parliamentary majority is lacking. Nobody is indispensable and every major political party in Serbia can co-operate with other parties. Theoretically speaking, the government’s reconstruction is possible, but the issue here is whose policy is closest to bringing all political wills together and not just putting the numbers together.

Hundreds of thousands of people will be left without jobs at a time when new jobs should have been created and pensions have gone up. Is it possible to have a socially responsible state during an economic crisis and are we going to see our economy collapsing and the state going bankrupt again?

The government has developed a package of certain economic and financial measures for overcoming this economic crisis. The incentives for the economy should lead to at least a slight growth in the national GDP. In addition to these incentives, the government is saving at all levels, i.e. cutting back on state costs, including those generated by public enterprises. Everybody in Serbia should get involved in overcoming the crisis: businessmen, employees, pensioners, political parties, etc.

Following a year of negotiations, Serbia has finally concluded its energy treaty with Russia. How good is this deal for Serbia and what are the real reasons behind some people contesting this treaty?

The recent gas crisis confirmed just how good this deal is. We really need to finish constructing the underground gas storage facility in Banatski Dvor in order to be ready for the next crisis. Gazprom is a Russian state-run company and a serious strategic partner that Europe depends to provide regular gas supplies. I wouldn’t like to comment on why some people are contesting the treaty. The most important thing is to implement all three projects envisaged by the gas arrangement that will hugely benefit Serbia.

Did the gas crisis show that Serbia cannot rely on Russia alone and who is actually at the helm of the country’s energy policy?

As I said, Serbia needs to meet all prerequisites to construct our own gas storage. This gas dispute is just one more reason to build the South Stream gas pipeline. The Government and the Ministry of Energy are those who implement the country’s energy policy.

It seems as though the chances of Serbia gaining EU membership are growing more distant by the day, yet we will still unilaterally implement the Interim Trade Agreement to our financial detriment. Can you envisage Serbia becoming an EU member in the near future?

I can’t agree with you that EU membership is far off. I think that in 2009 we need to concentrate and fully apply ourselves to getting Serbia included on the White Schengen List. If we manage to do that this year it would be an important milestone and a relief to all Serbian citizens. After that we can officially apply for EU membership. I am more in favor of continuously and successfully fulfilling the conditions for becoming an EU member, rather than forecasting which year that will happen.

Who is your role model among Serbian and world leaders?

I don’t have role models.

This article originally appeared on the CorD website