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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Political, security situation in GSZ stable

Bujanovac, 10 July 2007

Serbian ministers of defence and interior Dragan Sutanovac and Dragan Jocic said today during the visit to the Ground Security Zone (GSZ) that the political and security situation in the area is stable.

Dragan Jocic, 1st left, and Dragan Sutanovac, 2nd left

Author: Fonet

Sutanovac told a press conference held in a Serbian military base Peceno Brdo, which is a distance of some 600 metres from the Kosovo-Metohija administrative line, that today, together with Minister Jocic, he verified that the Serbian Army and police are capable of preventing any unrest and terrorist attacks on southern Serbia.

He particularly expressed satisfaction that this is the first joint visit by the ministers of defence and interior to southern Serbia, and added that the visit showed that there are no differences between the two ministries in their view of the security situation in the area.

Jocic recalled that until now cooperation between the Serbian Army and the Zandarmerija special police in the GSZ has been excellent and said that he is satisfied that there were no terrorist attacks on security forces in 2006 and 2007.

The Ministers agreed that salaries of the Serbian Army and police are inadequate given the fact that they make great sacrifices which are demanded by daily work in southern Serbia.

As part of the tour of the GSZ, Sutanovac and Jocic also visited the military-police base Cepotin near Bujanovac, where military and police commandants in the area acquainted them with the security and political situation in the municipalities of Bujanovac, Presevo and Medvedja.

Commandant of the fourth brigade of the ground forces Colonel Milosav Simovic said that the security and political situation in the GSZ is stable, but it is possible that individuals and smaller extremist groups might destabilise it.

Simovic said that there are three reasons for continuing the building of the military-police base Cepotin, whose construction was stopped two years ago due to lack of funds, and these are increasing security for all citizens, prevention of internal displacement of the Serb population and protection of Corridor 10 from terrorist attacks.

Ministers of defence and interior visited today the Zandarmerija base Dervish which is at a distance of one kilometre from the Kosovo-Metohija administrative line towards Gnjilan, and was briefed on living conditions and execution of tasks by members of the unit.

Zandarmerija Major Sinisa Stankovic said that the situation is safe on the territory of Presevo, and members of Zandarmerija are cooperating very well with the Serbian Army.

Stankovic said that members of the police on the territory of Presevo are present at several other posts which were built by the Ministry of Interior, and added that this unit will continue in the upcoming period to, in accordance with the law, execute tasks assigned to them and provide security to all citizens and the state on that territory.

Besides the ministers, Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Army Lieutenant-General Zdravko Ponos, Director of Police at the Serbian Ministry of Interior Milorad Veljovic, head of the military security agency Svetko Kovac, as well as commandants of operative units of the Serbian Army are visiting the GSZ.