Membership
of the Partnership for Peace is of crucial importance for the region's
lasting stability
Press Release - 6 NGO's
12/04/2006 , HCHRS
Belgrade, 1. December 2006: The Group of 6 NGOs takes
that NATO's decision to offer Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia
membership of the Partnership for Peace is of crucial importance for the
region's lasting stability.
Collective regional security calls for resolving all
open issues. This primarily refers to the status of Kosovo, which should
be specified in the shortest possible while. Besides, a viable regional
security necessitates reforms of armed forces in all Balkan countries.
In Serbia, this reform is still being hindered and obstructed by some
factors in the Army, in its security services in particular. Therefore,
the Group of 6 NGOs is of the opinion that the Partnership for Peace
stands for an unavoidable instrument for the reform of the Army and its
placing under civilian control. Civilian control over the Army of Serbia
is an imperative given that ever since Montenegro's independence the
Army has not been under any political control whatsoever.
Apart from holding a key to regional stability and
normalization, Serbia burdens the region with other problems as well.
This primarily refers to non-impunity for war crimes and genuine
cooperation with the ICTY, as well as to proper processing of war crimes
before domestic courts. That process - which is presently at initial
stage only - preconditions restoration of trust between the countries in
the region. This is the more so important since the region is still
plagued by extreme nationalism that is kept alive to a considerable
extent thanks to the fact that ethnic principle in conflict resolution
has been given a green light. That is another reason why the membership
of the Partnership for Peace will play an important role.
The Group of 6 NGOs expects that membership of the
Partnership for Peace would enforce control over various security
services that have been acting arbitrarily for long and preventing
Serbia's political scene to get properly constituted.
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