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Dacic attends weapon destruction at Recycling Centre

Belgrade, 3 October 2009

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic was present at the Belgrade Recycling Centre in Zeleznik, where a total of 17,000 weapons, mostly confiscated by the police from criminal groups, were designated for destruction.

VIDEO: Small arms and light weapons destruction at Recycling Centre in Zeleznik

Dacic said that most criminal acts have been committed with illegally possessed weapons and that more than 30,000 weapons have been confiscated since 2005.

After confiscation, these weapons are kept as material evidence during court proceedings, after which they are destroyed, Dacic explained.

In this way, Serbia is showing a readiness for confronting crime and terrorism and in respecting international law, he added.

The large quantity of illegally possessed weapons is one of the factors in instability and risk, Dacic noted, adding that this is a problem in the whole region after the conflicts in the past.

He also announced an initiative for the voluntary handover of weapons.

This is part of a joint project of the Ministry of the Interior and the South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC), with Norway’s support.

UN representatives in Serbia also attended the event, as well as police liaison officers and military attaches from embassies in Belgrade.