Ljajić: Rehn says SAA initialing is imminent

Rasim Ljajic met with EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn today in Brussels. After the talks, the president of the National Council for Cooperation with the Hague Tribunal said that he expected the SAA to be initialed soon. Ljajic: Rehn says SAA initialing is imminent Ljajic said that he expected Rehn to make his decision on initialing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) following Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte’s next visit to Belgrade. Ljajic informed Rehn of operations Belgrade had undertaken towards cooperation with the Tribunal. He announced a series of concrete steps that should bring about a positive response to the demands Del Ponte made in her last progress report. Rehn postponed the decision on SAA initialing until October 25/26 - when Del Ponte is scheduled to make her next visit to Belgrade - in light of the chief prosecutor’s report. “I hope that after Del Ponte’s visit, we will finally initial the SAA... After that we’ll increase our efforts to arrest the remaining fugitives, in order to ultimately sign that document,” said Ljajic, adding that hopes of signing the document in December were not outwith the realms of possibility. Rehn repeated that he was after more active engagement on Belgrade’s part in finding the Hague fugitives, as well full access to the archives. “Satisfactory progress needs to be made before the European Commission can initial the agreement…and for cooperation to be positive so that we can start wrapping things up,” stressed the commissioner. He reiterated that in order for the SAA to be signed, as well as for a positive evaluation from the Hague, operations had to be carried out, “leading to the location, arrest, and extradition of all the remaining fugitives.” A spokesman for the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office, Bruno Vekaric, said that, during the presentation of the Action Plan for completing cooperation, much was said regarding Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte’s negative report given on Monday in Luxembourg. “We have to say that we are still on a trial period until her next visit on October 25. That was the message we got from the European Parliament, especially from Jelko Kacin, our host,” Vekaric said. He said that Ljajic seemed worried yesterday. “He called for more understanding from European officials for the efforts being made based on the Action Plan. He said that the political will for cooperating was evidenced by the offers of rewards for information leading to the arrest of Hague fugitives, as well as the so-called Law on Accomplices, which was recently adopted by parliament,” Vekaric said. European Parliament official Jelko Kacin said, however, that government officials had told MPs in Brussels yesterday things regarding Tribunal cooperation that they had never previously mentioned. Kacin said that Serbian officials had informed members of the European Parliament, the European Commission and other institutions of steps they intended to take in the coming several days and weeks “which will undoubtedly make a big impact both in Serbia and beyond.” Rasim Ljajic (FoNet, archive)

Ljajić: Rehn says SAA initialing is imminent

Ljajić said that he expected Rehn to make his decision on initialing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) following Hague Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte’s next visit to Belgrade. Ljajić informed Rehn of operations Belgrade had undertaken towards cooperation with the Tribunal.

He announced a series of concrete steps that should bring about a positive response to the demands Del Ponte made in her last progress report.

Rehn postponed the decision on SAA initialing until October 25/26 - when Del Ponte is scheduled to make her next visit to Belgrade - in light of the chief prosecutor’s report.

“I hope that after Del Ponte’s visit, we will finally initial the SAA... After that we’ll increase our efforts to arrest the remaining fugitives, in order to ultimately sign that document,” said Ljajić, adding that hopes of signing the document in December were not outwith the realms of possibility.

Rehn repeated that he was after more active engagement on Belgrade’s part in finding the Hague fugitives, as well full access to the archives.

“Satisfactory progress needs to be made before the European Commission can initial the agreement…and for cooperation to be positive so that we can start wrapping things up,” stressed the commissioner.

He reiterated that in order for the SAA to be signed, as well as for a positive evaluation from the Hague, operations had to be carried out, “leading to the location, arrest, and extradition of all the remaining fugitives.”

A spokesman for the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office, Bruno Vekarić, said that, during the presentation of the Action Plan for completing cooperation, much was said regarding Chief Hague Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte’s negative report given on Monday in Luxembourg.

“We have to say that we are still on a trial period until her next visit on October 25. That was the message we got from the European Parliament, especially from Jelko Kacin, our host,” Vekarić said.

He said that Ljajić seemed worried yesterday.

“He called for more understanding from European officials for the efforts being made based on the Action Plan. He said that the political will for cooperating was evidenced by the offers of rewards for information leading to the arrest of Hague fugitives, as well as the so-called Law on Accomplices, which was recently adopted by parliament,” Vekarić said.

European Parliament official Jelko Kacin said, however, that government officials had told MPs in Brussels yesterday things regarding Tribunal cooperation that they had never previously mentioned.

Kacin said that Serbian officials had informed members of the European Parliament, the European Commission and other institutions of steps they intended to take in the coming several days and weeks “which will undoubtedly make a big impact both in Serbia and beyond.”