[Kcc-News] Balkan Border Issues Tackled (from iwpr.net)

[Mentor Cana]

http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/bcr3/bcr3_200305_433_1_eng.txt

Balkan Border Issues Tackled

Inadequate frontier controls have allowed drug smuggling, gunrunning and
human trafficking to flourish.

By Evridika Saskova in Skopje (BCR No 433, 30-May-03)

An agreement to strengthen border security and crack down on organised
crime is being hailed as a major step forward for the Balkans.

The breakthrough came at a conference at Lake Ohrid last week, in which
western Balkan leaders agreed a new phase of cross-border cooperation to
boost their chances of joining the European Union.

Macedonian prime minister Branko Crvenkovski told the media, .As organised
crime is trans-national, the fight against it is always more successful if
there is better cooperation among the countries involved..

The seriousness of the situation was underlined by NATO secretary general
George Robertson, who told the media, .Either this region takes control of
its borders . or the criminals will take control..

The leaders attending the conference on May 22 and 23 included top
officials from Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania
and Bulgaria, and United Nations administrators running Kosovo.

However, Kosovo.s prime minister, Bajram Rexhepi, was not present. The
protectorate.s UN administrator Michael Steiner withdrew his invitation
after the Albanian-majority Kosovo assembly adopted a pro-independence
resolution in defiance of the international community.

The Border Security and Management conference was hosted by the Macedonian
government and supported by NATO, the EU, the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, OSCE, and the Stability Pact. The latter.s special
coordinator Erhard Busek said, .Given the sensitivity of border issues, it
must be seen as a major achievement that the western Balkans are joining
forces to deal with the topic."

Inadequate border controls have allowed drug smuggling, gunrunning and
human trafficking to flourish, posing not only a threat to the stability of
the war-torn region, but also causing problems elsewhere in Europe.

Crime is also holding the Balkan nations back from one of their greatest
ambitions . to be reintegrated into the international community by becoming
full members of NATO and the EU.

One senior western diplomat, who did not want to be named, told IWPR that
the problems had to be tackled before further integration was possible,
saying, .Unless open but secure borders are created, the region will
continue to face economic stagnation and instability which will leave it
outside the European mainstream..

EU official Reinhard Preibe, who oversees the western Balkans, said, "The
ultimate goal is to do two things simultaneously - to make the borders more
open for legal trade while closing them for any illegal activities."

The attendance of so many top officials at the conference was seen as a
sign of the Balkan states. determination to tackle these issues head on.
.We can confront the [organised] criminals only with a successful coalition
of governments,. said Crvenkovski.

These governments have agreed to share information and form joint databases
on criminal groups active in the area.

Participants also agreed to put forward an ambitious and detailed plan to
increase both prevention and prosecution of cross-border activities linked
to organised crime and extremism.

The proposed reforms include computerisation, faster exchange of
information, modernisation of border crossings and more sophisticated
training for the frontier police who will eventually replace army units on
Balkan borders.

The OSCE will provide regional training for the border police units to
bring them up to European standards, and an integrated security control
system will be installed and operated by specially trained professionals.

NATO has also offered to install a modern communication system between its
Kosovo peacekeepers and surrounding countries, which it believes will wipe
out any advantage currently held by gangsters using state-of-the-art
surveillance and monitoring equipment.

Kosovo is still seen as fertile ground for armed groups because its
frontiers are considered porous.

However, Steiner was upbeat, saying, .Just a year ago, the papers were full
of stories about instability on our borders. Today we will sign an
agreement to open two new crossings between Macedonia and Kosovo. This
shows how far we've come..

Evridika Saskova is a journalist with the Skopje daily Makedonija Denes