SERBIA: TADIC TARGETS ORGANIZED CRIME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000212 DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (P. PETERSON) SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KCRM KJUS KV SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: TADIC TARGETS ORGANIZED CRIME REF: 08 BELGRADE 1250 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) President Tadic has declared that the Serbian government will take on entrenched organized crime groups in order to break their linkages with business and the state, and thereby enable Serbia to cope with the economic crisis. The message, which marks a distinct shift in the government's rhetoric, is being reinforced by our contacts in government and Parliament who describe efforts to strengthen the capacity of the legal system to fight organized crime in advance of a major push this summer. The March 9 arrest of 35 people for smuggling over the Kosovo border may indicate an increased willingness to tackle these issues. End Summary. Tadic Speaks Out on Organized Crime -------------- ¶2. (U) In an abrupt departure from his usual focus on big-picture European integration issues, President Boris Tadic gave a series of public statements during the first week of March in which he addressed the oftentimes taboo topic of organized crime in Serbia. Speaking to the main board of his Democratic Party (DS) on March 1, Tadic emphasized the need to continue to fight organized crime and corruption, including through improved laws on political party financing. ¶3. (U) At the annual gathering of Serbian economists and business leaders at the Kopaonik ski resort on March 3, Tadic gave a sober assessment of Serbia's economic situation, stressing the need to end the linkages between criminal elements and the economy, the justice system, and politics. Tadic's message focused on the inadequacy of reform since the fall of Milosevic and the fact that Serbia could no longer spend more than it earns. ¶4. (U) During a regional ministerial conference on border security organized by Interior Minister Ivica Dacic (SPS) in Belgrade, Tadic on March 5 announced that the Serbian government would engage "all its resources" in "the most comprehensive and complex fight against organized crime" of the decade. Asserting that the effort had already produced results, Tadic underscored the need for neighboring countries to take similar actions. He also said that EU support and assistance would be crucial for success, and that Serbia needed to strengthen the rule of law and change the values of both institutions and citizens in order to join the European Union. Dacic echoed these themes during a March 11 visit to Bulgaria, calling for enhanced regional cooperation to combat organized crime and corruption. Insiders Confirm Efforts Underway -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Nenad Konstantinovic, a DS MP who chairs the Parliament's Administrative Committee and belongs to the party's Main Board, told us on March 4 that Tadic had placed a great deal of emphasis on fighting organized crime at the March 1 session of the Main Board, and had linked the issue to Serbia's ability to withstand the coming economic crisis. Konstantinovic said that organized crime groups in Serbia were already feeling pressure from the steps the government had taken to strengthen its ability to fight the mafia, including the new Law on Asset Forfeiture and the package of judicial reform legislation passed in December 2008 (reftel) requiring the re-selection of judges. Konstantinovic claimed that organized criminal groups were already orchestrating press attacks on Minister of Justice Snezana Malovic on issues such as her participation in the State Electoral Commission and the Kovacevic case in response to the MOJ's work. ¶6. (SBU) Slobodan Homen, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, informed us on March 9 that the government was preparing additional tools to fight organized crime, including changes to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Organization and Jurisdiction of State Authorities in Combating Organized Crimewhich would be passed by the end of April. He said the government would launch a "serious fight" with the mafia in June or July, noting that both the MOJ and Minister of Interior Dacic were ready for battle. Homen linked the issue to stability in Kosovo, noting that he met on March 9 with UNMIK and EULEX representatives to discuss Kosovo justice issues. Homen said that the Serbian government believed that it was essential for there to be a unified legal space in Kosovo with a functioning justice system that included Kosovo Serbs in order to address the growing threat posed by organized crime in northern Kosovo. Smuggling Arrests a First Step? BELGRADE 00000212 002 OF 002 -------------- ¶7. (SBU) On the same day as our conversation with Homen, on March 9, Serbian police arrested 35 individuals on charges of smuggling goods across the Serbia-Kosovo border and bribery. The operation, which was initiated by the Belgrade and Kraljevo prosecutors, was the largest action in recent memory against Kosovo smuggling. The suspects, 18 of whom are active-duty police officers, are from Novi Pazar, Raska and Kraljevo. They face charges of smuggling products such as oil and oil derivatives, goods of animal origin, spirits, soft drinks, and other excise goods, and also of giving or receiving bribes and other criminal acts that violate the Weapons and Ammunition Law. (The arrests follow EULEX's decision to begin monitoring the flow of goods through Gates 1 and 31 in February; while this information sharing gave the Serbian authorities additional tools to go after the smugglers, they are unlikely to acknowledge any role that EULEX information or cooperation played in the case.) Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Since the 2003 assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, which many believe resulted from his efforts to take on the mafia, organized crime has been the third rail of Serbian politics. Most leaders have avoided speaking about the issue in public, and until recently it rarely came up in our private conversations with political figures. The clear and coordinated message that President Tadic and his associates have been sending may have been timed to coincide with the anniversary of Djindjic's March 12, 2003, assassination. Tadic may well have political considerations in mind; at a time of impending economic hardships, the governing coalition will benefit from having identified a common external enemy. Battling crime will likely resonate with the public; a March CESID poll showed that crime and corruption surpassed even pocketbook issues as the top concern of Serbian citizens. The initiative may also reflect Ivica Dacic's growing influence and political acumen, the subject of much discussion in Belgrade these days. Whatever his motivation, now that Tadic has taken aim at organized crime, the Serbian public will expect him to pull the trigger. End Comment. MUNTER