http://www.srbija.sr.gov.yu/vesti/vest.php?id=30447
Government achieves most impressive results in fight against organised
crime
Belgrade, Dec 22, 2006 – Serbian Prime Minister Vojilsav Kostunica said
today that the government achieved most impressive results in the fight
against organised crime in the previous period, and pointed to the fact that
without fighting corruption and organised crime there can be no stable
institutions and a legal state.
Vojislav Kostunica at today's press conferenceSpeaking at
a press conference held to present the work of the Serbian government during
the past 1000 days, Kostunica cited as a good example of the fight against
corruption and organised crime today’s action of identifying and arresting
15 employees in the Customs Administration, who defrauded the state budget
of more than €5 million.
The Prime Minister recalled several other instances of the fight against
corruption, and gave the example of Mobtel, where criminal charges were
filed against 36 persons who defrauded the state of €200 million, or the
“bankruptcy mafia” case in which criminal charges were brought against 41
persons, who caused a state loss of €50 million.
Similarly, several persons were arrested due to crime in the area of
transport and insurance, where the state was defrauded of nearly €1 million.
Confronting the “road mafia” led to the arrest of 61 persons, who
misappropriated amounts worth €15 million, while in the fight against
“customs mafia” 44 persons were arrested, who defrauded the state of €10
million, said Kostunica. He added that criminal procedures have also been
initiated against 12 judges.
He pointed to the success achieved in the fight against the “drug mafia”,
and added that during the previous three years Serbian police confiscated
1300 kilograms of heroin, which is more than the total amount confiscated in
all countries of the region.
Speaking on the economic results achieved by the government during its term
of office, and particularly in the previous year, Kostunica said that the
pace of reforms in Serbia during 2006 accelerated in the proper direction,
which is confirmed by the assessment of the World Bank and other relevant
international institutions that Serbia is a regional leader regarding the
speed of reforms implemented.
He said that besides the facts that record foreign investments worth €4
billion and a high 6% rate of GDP growth marked this year, one of the major
successes includes the signing of the Memorandum on construction of a gas
pipeline through Serbia.
According to Kostunica, this contract worth €1 billion will contribute to a
stable supply of gas and create employment.
The Serbian Prime Minister pointed to the fact that one more important
agreement was reached with the Russian government, which is the agreement on
the clearing debt of $288 million between Serbia and Russia, through which
new investments will be secured.
He added that the free trade agreement between Serbia and Russia
should not be forgotten, which will send an additionally positive message to
foreign investors after it is ratified by the Russian Duma.
Kostunica also recalled the recent signing of the Central European Free
Trade Agreement (CEFTA) in Bucharest, which will allow Serbian economy to
strengthen further and lead to an increase in exports to CEFTA member
countries, whereas a major bulk of 32% of Serbian exports are already
directed to these countries.
One of the landmarks in positive economic growth in Serbia is the first ever
participation of the domestic company “Telekom Srbija” in an international
tender sale for the purchase of the company “Telekom Srpske”, said
Kostunica, and added that regional cooperation between Serbia and Republika
Srpska is continuing.
He said in that context that owing to the efforts of the Serbian government,
work on the construction of the new bridge near Raca will begin in a few
days, and the Serbian company “Delta Osiguranje” participated in the
privatisation of “Kosig Dunav Osiguranje” from Banja Luka.
Kostunica stressed that the Serbian government’s projections for economic
growth will continue during 2007.
Kostunica recalled that this year major success was achieved in the adoption
of the new Constitution and the Constitutional Bill, and added that it was a
historical precedent, because the text of the supreme legal act was prepared
within a short period of a few months, which was adopted by the government
and parliament, and later approved through a referendum.
According to Kostunica, following the government’s recommendation the
Serbian parliament adopted more than 250 laws during the past 1000 days, and
a big number of laws are going through parliamentary procedure.
He stressed that the new Constitution also defines the position regarding
Kosovo-Metohija, and recalled that the Preamble of the Constitution
underlines the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, while
respecting the principles of the UN Charter and international law.
Speaking on Kosovo-Metohija, the Prime Minister said that it is easy to
solve the issue of the province if the solution is sought within the
framework of international law, but if international law is overlooked,
compromise will be hard to find.
He once again expressed concern due to the position of UN Special Envoy
Marti Ahtisaari regarding respect of human rights in Kosovo-Metohija, and
recalled that Ahtisaari has not even once condemned violence in the
province.
He added that since the negotiation process between Belgrade and Pristina on
the future status of Kosovo-Metohija began in Vienna, Ahtisaari attended the
meetings only once, in July this year, and by the end of the year the
negotiations ceased.
According to Kostunica, the Serbian government’s success lies in the fact
that during the previous six years many countries changed their stand
regarding the issue of the future status of Kosovo-Metohija and the time
required to resolve it, and that during the past few years EU member
countries have also begun to support the idea that this issue must not be
solved without consulting Belgrade.
Serbian News Network - SNN
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