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Harsh condemnation of Haradinaj acquittal by government representatives

Belgrade, 3 April 2008

Serbian government representatives severely condemned today the acquittal of former Kosovo prime minister and KLA commander Ramush Haradinaj by the ICTY.

Slobodan Samardzic

Serbian Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Slobodan Samardzic said at a press conference that this is a disastrous decision, which will have political, moral and legal repercussions, as well as consequences regarding peace and stability in Kosovo-Metohija.

He said that the acquittal proves that in fact there is no international justice when it comes to crimes committed on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. He recalled that the case against Haradinaj was strong, supported by a large number of witnesses.

The situation we have is that a war criminal will continue his political life in Kosovo-Metohija. This clarifies matters further for us in our task of safeguarding Kosovo as part of Serbia, said Samardzic. He added that as far as Kosovo is concerned, the ICTY has added “fuel to the fire” with this decision.

The Minister recalled that the prosecution demanded a sentence of 25 years, that two witnesses were murdered during the trial, and two years ago Fatmir Limaj who was accused of crimes against Serbs was also acquitted.

Samardzic said that the Serbian government adopted today the Information on holding parliamentary and local elections in Kosovo-Metohija which are scheduled to take place on May 11, 2008.

He said that the Serbian government will contact UNMIK regarding the holding of elections because of the complicated procedure involved.

The Minister pointed to the fact that elections are scheduled to take place throughout the territory of Serbia, therefore they must also be held in Kosovo-Metohija.

Samardzic said that a special part of the Information adopted today concerns the organisation of local elections for internally displaced persons, who will vote at the same polling stations where they are due to vote at the parliamentary elections.

Bozidar Djelic

Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic said at the conference that Haradinaj’s acquittal marks a dark day in the history of international justice and the verdict is scandalous also because of the fact that the trial was accompanied by the pressuring and murder of witnesses.

The verdict is scandalous, particularly because the witnesses were under enormous pressure and murders were committed. Today the entire international justice system and the future of the process of reconciliation in the Balkans been dealt a massive blow, and the ICTY is responsible for this, said Djelic. He said that the Serbian government adopted today the draft of the financial agreement with the European Commission to the amount of nearly €170 million in pre-accession funds, which is intended for 36 projects.

Djelic said that the agreement will be signed in Belgrade tomorrow and this will be the first part of non-repayable assistance for Serbia by the EU worth €1 billion, for the period 2007-2011.

According to Djelic, of the €170 million, some €40 million is meant for equal regional development, €11 million for the river information system, and €10 million for refugees and internally displaced persons.

The same amount is intended for reform of emergency medical services, €7 million is for Serbian students, €3 million for making the Serbian economy more competitive while €2 million is for the training of judges, said Djelic.

He said that the first of the funds should become available during the summer, and tomorrow programmes will be signed which concern cross-border cooperation with Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro and are worth nearly €5 million.

Djelic said that the Serbian government today established the basis for calculation and payment of salaries to non-core professionals of the Serbian Army, making their salaries equal to those of the civilians.

For example, doctors working in military institutions will have the same salaries as those working in civil hospitals. Thus, the material condition of workers in the Army will be improved.

He said that almost RSD 2 million was set aside for 180 financially vulnerable inhabitants of the Novi Pazar municipality, and added that the government set aside some RSD 50 million for support rural development, in order to improve living conditions for villagers.

Djelic said that the Bill on ratification of the energy agreement with Russia was not adopted at today’s government session because the caretaker government does not have the legal capability to propose laws to Serbian parliament.

He said that all ministers received a notification from the Serbian Secretariat for Legislation that according to the Law on government, Article 17, a government whose mandate has ended can only perform caretaker tasks and cannot propose laws or other general acts to Serbian parliament

Djelic explained that the energy agreement can be implemented in the areas of oil and gas even before it is ratified.

Predrag Bubalo

Serbian Minister of Trade and Services Predrag Bubalo said at the press conference that owing to the government’s decision not to put the Bill on ratification of the energy agreement on the agenda, a large greenfield investment which “Serbia already had in its hands” will be postponed.

This postponement could have a negative influence on bilateral relations with Russia, which is evident by the tone of the letter sent by Russian Minister of Energy and Industry Victor Khristenko on March 21, Bubalo stressed.

In his letter to Serbian government representatives, Khristenko said that Russia ratified the agreement and expressed concern over a possible delay in Serbia.

The Minister said that Serbia needs the gas pipeline more than Russia and that is why Serbia should have been the first one to ratify it.

Speaking about the notification from the Serbian Secretariat for Legislation concerning the jurisdiction of the caretaker government, Bubalo said that the government can carry out any urgent task, and the ratification and implementation of the agreement is an urgent task.

He also said that according to the Serbian Constitution, Serbian parliament can discuss any urgent matter. Adoption of laws that confirm agreements can be subsumed under that category, if circumstances are such that those agreements must be ratified urgently.

Mirko Cvetkovic

Serbian Minister of Finance Mirko Cvetkovic said that the Serbian government made the decision today to set up a working group which will visit the Magnohrom factory in Kraljevo next week and will be briefed on the spot about problems in the privatisation process.

The working group will consist of Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic and representatives of the ministries of economy and regional development, labour, finances and infrastructure, and Advisor to the Serbian Prime Minister Slobodan Lalovic, the minister of finance specified.