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 todays 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 governments 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 governments 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 governments 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.
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