Ponoš dismissed as VS chief-of-staff

President Boris Tadic has dismissed Lt. Gen. Zdravko Ponos from the post of Serbian Army (VS) chief-of-the-general-staff, the president's cabinet has announced. In so doing, Tadic has used his constitutional powers under which the president commands the army, and promotes and dismisses VS officers. Ponos dismissed as VS chief-of-staff The command chain continues to function normally and Lt. Gen. Miloje Miletic, the deputy VS chief-of-staff, will assume command of the army, pending the appointment of a new chief-of-staff. Tadic said earlier that he would be taking a decision on the dispute betweem Ponos and Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac in the course of the day. The president said that he had told a session of the National Security Council that Serbia’s defense potential was good, and assured citizens that they could rest easy.“All actors in the defense system bear their share of the responsibility. Communication between the chief-of-staff and the defense minister, regardless of the ever-present conceptual differences, must be in line with the general security interest,“ the president told state broadcaster RTS. “Everyone has their share of the responsibility, but, at the same time, it’s completely unacceptable for military discipline to be breached in such an important system as the defense system, and that issues affecting the future of our defense system are discussed in such an inappropriate manner in the media,“ he said. Tadic said that that did not mean that there should no be a public and democratic debate on security strategy and on issues affecting Serbia’s defense. “But, a debate conducted in this manner, actually impairs the adoption of strategic documents and further reforms,“ warned the president. He said that the chain of command and subordination still functioned though, and that all military structures were doing their job. At yesterday’s session of the National Security Council the situation regarding organized crime was assessed. There was also debate of the arrests of the former Kosovo Liberation Army members suspected of war crimes, said Tadic. “We can say that the operation was carried out fully in line with Serbian laws and that it is no way targeted against Albanians in Presevo and southern Serbian municipalities, rather it’s targeted against those against whom unambiguous evidence exists of their participation in war crimes during the war in Kosovo,“ he stressed. A file photo of Tadic, Sutanovac and Ponos (Tanjug)

Ponoš dismissed as VS chief-of-staff

The command chain continues to function normally and Lt. Gen. Miloje Miletić, the deputy VS chief-of-staff, will assume command of the army, pending the appointment of a new chief-of-staff.

Tadić said earlier that he would be taking a decision on the dispute betweem Ponoš and Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac in the course of the day.

The president said that he had told a session of the National Security Council that Serbia’s defense potential was good, and assured citizens that they could rest easy.“All actors in the defense system bear their share of the responsibility. Communication between the chief-of-staff and the defense minister, regardless of the ever-present conceptual differences, must be in line with the general security interest,“ the president told state broadcaster RTS.

“Everyone has their share of the responsibility, but, at the same time, it’s completely unacceptable for military discipline to be breached in such an important system as the defense system, and that issues affecting the future of our defense system are discussed in such an inappropriate manner in the media,“ he said.

Tadić said that that did not mean that there should no be a public and democratic debate on security strategy and on issues affecting Serbia’s defense.

“But, a debate conducted in this manner, actually impairs the adoption of strategic documents and further reforms,“ warned the president.

He said that the chain of command and subordination still functioned though, and that all military structures were doing their job.

At yesterday’s session of the National Security Council the situation regarding organized crime was assessed.

There was also debate of the arrests of the former Kosovo Liberation Army members suspected of war crimes, said Tadić.

“We can say that the operation was carried out fully in line with Serbian laws and that it is no way targeted against Albanians in Preševo and southern Serbian municipalities, rather it’s targeted against those against whom unambiguous evidence exists of their participation in war crimes during the war in Kosovo,“ he stressed.