The General Assembly of Interpol accepted the request of Pristina to consider Kosovo’s application for membership in that international police organization in mid-November. Pristina officials believe that Kosovo will be the the 193th member of the Interpol the next month, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic says to the portal Insajder that that he does not think that they will he will have the necessary majority, and that together with the MUP, his ministry is doing everything to prevent the initiative of Pristina.
Milan Dimitrijevic, the head of the Serbian Interpol, warns in a statement to Insajder that, if Kosovo joins this police organization, 16 databases of security-related information from the entire world, which could be abused for criminal purposes, would become available to the Pristina authorities.
While Pristina officials claim that the key reasons for Kosovo’s membership in Interpol are the fight against terrorism and organized crime, Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic claims for the portal Insajder that it’s something else.
“They are not doing it for the sake of the fight against crime, but because they think it will round up the issue of status, that is, international recognition.”
When asked by Insajder how Kosovo’s membership in Interpol could affect Belgrade and Pristina negotiations, as well as Pristina’s intention to gain membership in the UN, the head of Serbia’s diplomacy replied that this would not affect dialogue.
“It cannot influence negotiations, but it can influence Pristina to issue warrants through Interpol for a large number of our people. Practically they will fabricate them,” Dacic concluded.
Milan Dimitrijevic, head of the Directorate for International Operational Police Cooperation, told Insajder that in addition to the violation of the status neutrality status, there would be a danger from the legal point of view not only for Serbia, but also for all countries in the world that regulate their vital national interests with the help of international law, or UN resolutions, which have binding character.
“So, there would be a field of legal uncertainty, and this damage to Serbia would be incomprehensible. On the other hand, such a precedent would open a field of legal uncertainty, not only in the region, but also in the world,” he said.
Dimitrijevic adds that there is no less fear from the perspective of the professional police profession.
“Interpol is a professional police organization that has serious anti-crime tools and a total of 16 databases that are updated and filled with security-related information from around the world. Only this fact, with the remark that until now none of the experts of Interpol has given their statements and expert opinions whether there are professional capacities, with a written track, indicating that there is a great danger that eventual membership would violate the Interpol’s system of work. There could also be an uncontrolled outburst of information that can be misused for criminal purposes,” says Dimitrijevic.
He adds that Resolution 1244 in the fight against crime clearly defined the role of UNMIK, which established in Pristina in 2002 a contact point with Interpol.
