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NEW CENTURY Number 2 - November 2012 Quarterly of CENTER FOR EURO-ATLANTIC STUDIES • November 2012 • ISSN 2217-9925 www.ceas-serbia.org ceasrbija @CEASSerbia NEW CENTURY Number 2 - November 2012 IN A SNAKE’S NEST Obligations Ensuing From Common Security and Defense Policy Jelena Milić Page 2 in the Process of European Integration of Serbia * * * Prof. dr Tanja Miščević Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade FOR A MORE DYNAMIC REFORM OF THE SECURITY Page 5 SECTOR IN SERBIA Analysis of results of a poll conducted among National The Challenges of Private Security Assembly deputies, state officials and civil society Sector in the New Century activists about the state of Jan Litavski affairs in the security sector CEAS Researcher in Serbia... Page 14 Page 41 * * * The Periphery of the Periphery: MAIN CHALLENGES OF The Western Balkans and REFORM OF THE SECURITY SECTOR IN SERBIA: the Euro Crisis The role of the EU Common Dmitar Bechev Security and Defense Policy Head of ECFR´s Office in Sofia and NATO in the reform of the security sector Page 30 Irina Rizmal Page 52 In a Snake’s Nest We have fallen into a ‘snake’s nest’ here, among people who use high positions in many departments to dominate lives, among people who dared to wiretap primarily myself, and then Aleksandar Vučić as well. This will have to be investigated fully. You cannot live like this in Serbia” Tomislav Nikolić, President of Serbia Jelena Milić CEAS Director The first one hundred days of work of the new party control over parts of the apparatus, making its Serbian government, the backbone of which is made professional work increasingly difficult. up of the Serbian Progress Party (SNS), the Socialist The fact that parts of the Serbian Interior Ministry Party of Serbia (SPS) and the United Regions of Serbia had acted unconstitutionally, unfortunately, was fully (URS), do not deserve a pass mark. Let us assess marginalized by objects of surveillance themselves, more closely its work in areas intensively monitored Vucic and Nikolic. Unlike them, the Commissioner for by CEAS: security sector, state of human rights, Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Kosovo, regional cooperation, transitional justice and Protection Rodoljub Sabic and Ombudsman Sasa European integration. Jankovic pointed once again to the essence of the The previously achieved level of democratic problem. The fourteen measures which institutions procedures and practices is jeopardized not only by headed by these two men have jointly proposed the Law on National Bank of Serbia, which was at in order to improve the situation in the security the center of attention of the Western international sector ought to obtain united support of all honest community, but also by the manner in which the chief democratic and pro-European forces in the Serbian of the Security Information Agency was removed society. from his position and the amendments to the Law on The President of all citizens of Serbia Tomislav Foundations of Security Agencies. Nikolic gave a public comment on the endemic An alarming situation in the security sector in surveillance and eavesdropping in Serbia only Serbia, caused primarily by inadmissible staffing once the uncontrolled security sector had dared decisions and loopholes in democratic oversight over to unconstitutionally order surveillance of him and the sector to which CEAS has been drawing attention Defense Minister and Coordinator of all Security for years, has reached a true pinnacle in the affair Services and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar which we in CEAS refer to as the „counter-Watergate.“ Vucic. The media-expert discussion about the fact It has recently been revealed and no-one has yet that the Department for Criminal Investigations of denied it, that in Serbia, one way or another, private the Serbian Interior Ministry has unconstitutionally communication of around 400,000 citizens is under ordered surveillance of conversation listings of Deputy surveillance, of which „only“ 15,000 legally. The Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and President of number of „only“ 15,000 is questionable as well in the Serbia Tomislav Nikolic unfortunately focuses more light of the recent ruling by the Constitutional Court on who does what on whose behalf and why does of Serbia concerning unconstitutionality of certain he do it at the particular moment, than on the provisions of the Law on Foundations of the Military essence of the problem – unconstitutionality of such Security Agency and the Military Intelligence Agency, an act and the lack of democratic oversight over the which envisage that an Agency Director rather security sector. Both of these causes are well aligned than a Court is entitled to authorize surveillance with a dangerous tendency towards establishing of citizens’ communication as well as in the light New Century - November 2012 Page 2 of incongruity of the Law on Criminal Procedure of its security sector and is unable to issue an order with Serbian Constitution, which under Article 41 through its chain of command to protect citizens who strictly envisages that only a court can decide about exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of aberration from constitutional guarantee of the assembly, which makes Serbia, along with everything secrecy of communication. that has been said about the “counter-Watergate” The Serbian Progress Party proudly stresses the affair, a weak state and thus a regional security threat. „loyalty“ of the newly appointed leadership of BIA, The second is that the current authorities use the the work of which is coordinated by the incumbent services of colluding paramilitary formations, which Defense Minister, confirming the intention of limiting are wrongly referred to as extremists, hooligans and its autonomy and establishing full party rather than football fan groups, the organized actions of whom democratic control over its work. we had witnessed in Belgrade in 2010 and in northern Kosovo in 2011, in order to realize their political goals The fact that Prime and Interior Minister Ivica that they do not dare publicly articulate. The second Dacic maintains that this scandal has nothing to do scenario is more probable. The above-mentioned with him, is defeating. Unfortunately, it is obvious services include: this year’s intimidation of citizens that a series of inadmissible events at and around with violence in case of organizing the Parade in order the Interior Ministry, which occurred in various to increase antagonism of Serbian citizens towards places from Vranje to Kragujevac to Belgrade, as well LGBT population, last year’s beating of participants as internal protests and refusal of a group of Interior of the Parade and destruction of city property with Ministry members to take certain orders, also have the same end and organizing violence and provoking „nothing to do“with the line Ministry. conflict with international forces in northern Kosovo Even before Serbian „counter-Watergate,“ ample in order to effect division of Kosovo. evidence existed that the situation in security sector The period before the official ban of the Parade in Serbia is worrying both in terms of organization and has confirmed the fears that not only that the in terms of staffing. The latter is rarely mentioned, but new authorities in Serbia are not committed to if we pay attention to Kosovo-related biographies of strengthening the protection of basic human rights of Army Chief of Staff and chief of the Military Security all citizens of Serbia, but also that they do not refrain Agency, we can suspect that in the background of from, deliberately or out of ignorance, wrongly „counter-Watergate“ affair is an attempt to discredit interpreting the basic laws and the Constitution of state leadership ahead of its verbally announced the Republic of Serbia in order to promote their own intention to make a positive step in the dialogue policies and values. Fortunately, in Serbia there is no with Pristina in a search for a solution that will make special law which explicitly bans insult of someone’s the life of citizens easier and accelerate European religious feelings. At the request of religious integration of both Serbia and Kosovo. That the fundamentalists, similar laws have unfortunately remaining power of these structures is still large is been adopted around the world and also in some tellingly shown in extraordinary text „The Secret secular democracies for fear of terrorism. The Military Courts of Serbia“ by Lakic Djorovic, the organization of Islamic countries aggressively retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Legal Department demands adoption of such provisions at the level of the Army of Yugoslavia, published recently in of the UN, but for now, the UN only issued certain E-Papers and carried by CEAS on its web site (http:// non-binding acts. The Constitution of the Republic of www.ceas-serbia.org/root/index.php/sr/home- Serbia merely contains a provision which suspends sr/93-preuzeto/478-tajni-vojni-sudovi-srbije). It is some freedoms in order to prevent violation of also shown by the fact that as much as eight years „morality of democratic society,“ which is a rather after unquestionable murders of two Guards Brigade problematic phrase, to which recently deceased soldiers in Topcider and numerous omissions that great human rights fighter, Vojin Dimitrijevic, had enabled and facilitated them, no one has been held been drawing attention. accountable either criminally or professionally. The regional relations have deteriorated with There are only two possible reasons, both coming to power of the new authorities, primarily connected with the state of affairs in the security due to a series of statements by President of Serbia sector, for the scandalous decision to ban holding the Tomislav Nikolic, which bring into question valid Gay Pride Parade within the “Pride Week”. The first verdicts concerning genocide in Srebrenica, as well is that the state of Serbia does not control all parts New Century - November 2012 Page 2 as his statements about the future of Bosnia and International.
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