04 April 2008 Belgrade _ Serbia’s outgoing Defence Minister claims his Democratic Party prevented military intervention in Kosovo, after it declared independence.

“Such ideas existed,” Dragan Sutanovac, and a Democratic Party, DS, deputy leader, told Belgrade daily, Vecernje Novosti in an interview headlined “We Prevented the War for Kosovo.”

“Some wanted us to help Kosovo Serbs by sending them arms and ammunition,” he said.

He added he was convinced that by participating in the Serbian government, the DS thwarted the possibility “of turning Kosovo into Beirut with unforeseeable consequences.”

Sutanovac also said that the DS prevented the further deterioration of Serbia’s relations with the European Union.

The outgoing Serb coalition government is made up of the pro-Western DS, led by President Boris Tadic, the market-oriented G17 Plus, along with two parties dubbed by their critics as ‘populist.’ They are the nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS, led by Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and his junior partner, New Serbia led by Velimir Ilic.

The DS and G 17 Plus created a majority in the outgoing cabinet and are able to block decisions.

The outgoing government collapsed because of differences among the coalition partners on how to proceed with relations with the European Union in light of Kosovo’s February 17 declaration of independence.

Sutanovac dismissed Kostunica’s accusations that the DS was not honest in its fight for Kosovo, adding “the populists are using the issue to score a few more votes on peoples’ emotions.”

He also accused the DSS and New Serbia of organising violent protests in Belgrade against Kosovo’s declaration of independence, in which the United States Embassy, among others, was vandalised and liberal media and politicians targeted with hate mail.

“I call on the Government General Secretary, Dusan Mihajlov (a DSS prominent member) to reveal transcripts from the government session held February 21 at which Velimir Ilic informed us of what will happen that afternoon, including the attack on the United States Embassy, B92 Radio and Television, and Cedomir Jovanovic,” Sutanovac said.

Jovanovic, who heads the pro-Western Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, has repeatedly offered Tadic a hand in forming a new government after the May 11 elections, providing the DS change its policy on Kosovo, in recognising Kosovo as an independent state.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/news/9138/

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