State to respond to obstruction of interior ministry reforms

BELGRADE - The Serbian Ministry of Interior is the only system in the country where no reforms have been attempted since 2000, and the time has come for the state to introduce organisational and personnel changes in response to efforts to maintain the current state of affairs in the ministry, Momir Stojanovic, the chairman of the parliamentary committee on control of security services, said on Friday.

"Various interest groups - and by that I mean organised crime leaders - that had ties with some people in the Ministry of Interior feel threatened and are now using disinformation in their attempts to avert the threat to the privileged status they have had over the past years," Stojanovic told Tanjug.

"I think that for a while we will be witnessing fierce attacks and disinformation regarding the Ministry of Interior, but I believe that the current government has the strength to face this challenge and that there will be organisational and personnel changes in the Ministry of Interior in the days ahead," Stojanovic said.

On the other hand, the security services - the military services, as well as the Security Information Agency - are the more stable and more reliable part of the security system, unlike the Ministry of Interior, which has been a factor of instability, he said.

Stojanovic said that the numerous scandals that rock the Ministry of Interior give rise to confusion and instability in the country, and that the same happens when speculations arise about alleged ties between key officials of the ministry and certain organised crime leaders, when certain top officials of the ministry have an influence on the media and the public opinion, or when information is leaking from the police.

Opening the negotiations...