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Bozovic at European Forum symposium in Austria

Belgrade, 28 August 2006

During the first two days of the political symposium held as part of the European Forum in Alpbach, Austria, whose topic is "Quest for certainty and security", Assistant Minister and Inspector General of the Serbian Ministry of Interior Vladimir Bozovic talked with Chairman of the European Forum and President of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe Erhard Busek, European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik on the security situation in Serbia, reform of the police and the entire security sector.

Vladimir Bozovic, Ursula Plassnik, Jozefina Topalli and Erhard Busek

A statement issued by the Ministry's Inspectorate-General reads that during these meetings, the progress in cooperation with the Hague tribunal and the positions of the Serbian negotiating team for the resolution of the status of Kosovo-Metohija were also discussed. During the first two days, Bozovic also met with Hague tribunal's judge Wolfgang Schomburg and Albanian parliament Speaker Jozefina Topalli.

During the talks, Bozovic pointed to severe violations of human rights in Kosovo-Metohija as the least safe place in Serbia, the Balkans and Europe, with a high rate of the gravest forms of organised crime. He also reiterated Serbia's firm resolution to resist to all attempts of forced resolutions by which the territory of a sovereign democratic European state would be torn and taken by force, contrary to all norms of international law and all democratic solutions in the world made so far.

On Sunday's session of the symposium, Bozovic harshly opposed the positions of Albanian president speaker Jozefina Topalli who gave a number of arguments in favour of giving unconditional independence to Kosovo-Metohija.

Bozovic underlined that Kosovo-Metohija is an integral part of Serbia and that negotiations are currently underway which should bring about a compromise solution, in line with Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council and international law. He pointed out that the seizure of a part of the territory of a sovereign state cannot be accepted and that Topalli's attitudes are not good for inter-state relations between Serbia and Albania.

Bozovic reminded those at the gathering that the Serbian government and Serbian police have arrested several persons accused of war crimes in the past period, those in the territory of Kosovo-Metohija and other regions of the former Yugoslavia. Proceedings have been launched against former members of the unit “Scorpions”, charges have been filed in the murder case of Bitic brothers, and mass graves were uncovered near Batajnica and Petrovo Selo stated the Assistant Minister.

Bozovic said that unfortunately since the arrival of the UNMIK no serious investigations have been conducted when serious ethnically motivated crimes against Serbs are in question – murder of Serbs and other non-Albanians in Kosovo-Metohija. He explained that persons responsible for burning Serbian churches, monasteries and homes in Kosovo-Metohija have not been found.

The political symposium will continue with work until August 30.