Natl. security council to meet Monday

Serbia's Council for National Security will meet on Monday to discuss the state of the country's defense system. This comes in the wake of an open clash between Defense Minster Dragan Sutanovac and Serbian Army (VS) Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Zdravko Ponos. Natl. security council to meet Monday President Boris Tadic reacted to the escalation this week by saying that he will come up with measures to solve the conflict within his constitutional powers. "Due to their differences, which have acquired such a public dimension, each of them carries his own responsibility and I will analyze and suggest measures within my constitution competencies," Tadic told Vecernje Novosti daily. He said that different personal approaches to the defense system reforms cannot be debated in the media, and that the army as an institution cannot have democratic management, but that it needs democratic and civilian control. "All these issues must be separated," Tadic added, and noted that "certain measures" that he will come up wit will be "timely". In a separate statement for another Belgrade newspaper, Blic, the president said that the question of "respect of military discipline" and whether the reaction of the MoD was appropriately timed would also be analyzed. All the issues now brought up in public, he continued, have been addressed by those participating in the defense system in the past five years; however, "the final decisions were not made due to objective reasons". "This is since we have not had a chance to adopt defense and security strategies because we have until recently been a part of Serbia and Montenegro, while later we adopted the Constitution," said Tadic. The president, who is also the military's commander-in-chief, said that "the time has come" or the basic defense system documents to be adopted, while processes such as the army's professionalization remain in the pipeline.

Natl. security council to meet Monday

President Boris Tadić reacted to the escalation this week by saying that he will come up with measures to solve the conflict within his constitutional powers.

"Due to their differences, which have acquired such a public dimension, each of them carries his own responsibility and I will analyze and suggest measures within my constitution competencies," Tadić told Večernje Novosti daily.

He said that different personal approaches to the defense system reforms cannot be debated in the media, and that the army as an institution cannot have democratic management, but that it needs democratic and civilian control.

"All these issues must be separated," Tadić added, and noted that "certain measures" that he will come up wit will be "timely".

In a separate statement for another Belgrade newspaper, Blic, the president said that the question of "respect of military discipline" and whether the reaction of the MoD was appropriately timed would also be analyzed.

All the issues now brought up in public, he continued, have been addressed by those participating in the defense system in the past five years; however, "the final decisions were not made due to objective reasons".

"This is since we have not had a chance to adopt defense and security strategies because we have until recently been a part of Serbia and Montenegro, while later we adopted the Constitution," said Tadić.

The president, who is also the military's commander-in-chief, said that "the time has come" or the basic defense system documents to be adopted, while processes such as the army's professionalization remain in the pipeline.