Ethnically motivated terrorism prevention in Serbia: A case study 'Bujanovac, Preševo and Medveđa'

Abstract

Based on their own negative experiences in the understanding of terrorism as an exclusively internal security problem and its solution are primarily repressive police and military and intelligence methods, Serbia is on the threshold of XXI century fundamentally changed its anti-terrorist strategy. Unlike so understood Albanian terrorism in Kosovo and Metohija and the strategies applied in his unsuccessful suppression, new antiterrorist strategy was implemented successfully in combating against same species of ethnically motivated terrorism in the municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa. Despite not even exclude the repressive police and military action as a last resort, a new strategy is essentially meant the transfer of emphasis on preventive (safety, organizational, diplomatic-political socio-economic and informational) measures that, among other things implied: solve all problems, principally, by peaceful means and negotiations, including the troubleshooting of representatives of all relevant government bodies, local government, NGOs, ethnic communities including representatives of terrorist groups, as well as the condemnation of violence, participation in negotiations and support for solving problems of by key members of international community (EU, OSCE, USA, NATO), with favorable demographic effects. Although based primarily on experience, that (still informal, but in practice verified) RS strategy is in line with the UN Global Strategy against terrorism (which was subsequently made, 2006) and as such can serve as an example of good practice in confronting similar kinds of terrorism in the world.

Poučena vlastitim negativnim iskustvima u shvatanju terorizma kao isključivo unutrašnjeg bezbednosnog problema i njegovog rešavanja prevashodno represivnim policijsko-vojnim i obaveštajnim metodama, Republika Srbija je na pragu XXI veka suštinski je promenila svoju protivterorističku strategiju. Za razliku od tako shvaćenog albanskog terorizma na Kosovu i Metohiji i strategije primenjene u njegovom neuspešnom suzbijanju, nova protivteroristička strategija uspešno je primenjena u suzbijanju iste vrste etnički motivisanog terorizma u opštinama Preševo, Bujanovac i Medveđa. Uprkos tome što nije isključivala ni represivne policijsko-vojne mere kao krajnje sredstvo, nova strategija je suštinski podrazumevala prenošenje težišta na preventivne (bezbednosne, organizacione, diplomatsko-političke socijalno-ekonomske i informativne) mere koje su, pre svega, podrazumevale rešavanje svih problema, težišno, mirnim putem i pregovorima; uključivanje u rešavanje problema predstavnika svih relevantnih državnih organa, organa lokalne uprave, nevladinih organizacija, etničkih zajednica, pa i predstavnika terorističkih grupa; kao i osudu nasilja, učešće u pregovorima i podršku rešavanju problema od strane ključnih subjekata međunarodne zajednice (EU, OEBS, SAD, NATO), uz povoljne demografske efekte. Iako zasnovana, pre svega, na iskustvu, ta (još uvek neformalna ali u praksi proverena) strategija RS u skladu je sa Globalnom strategijom Ujedinjenih nacija protiv terorizma (koja je doneta naknadno, tek 2006. godine) i kao takva može poslužiti kao primer dobre prakse u suprotstavljanju sličnim vrstama terorizma u svetu.