31 Mar 2006

Changes in the Army of the Union Serbia and Montenegro

The former Jugoslavian Army (VJ)was renamed the Army of Serbia and Montenegro, VSCG, after the signing of the StateUnion Constitutional Charter on March 14, 2002. With Pavkovic gone, the first genuine reforms in the military took place under Boris Tadic, who became the state union's defence minister in March 2003.
The army has downsized in personnel and facilities. Surplusweapons were destroyed, and tactical and technical reforms enacted. Tadic's reforms aimed to cement civilian oversight of the army,with the creation of new mechanisms to ensure civilian control and democratic accountability. The State Union Ministerial Council, consisting of the two republics' presidents, the president of the state union and defence minister, assumed the role of supreme commander, while the general staff was subordinated to the ministry of defence, headed by a civilian. Parliament now exercised clear supervision of the work of the defence ministry and the army by parliamentary committee, while a separate commission was set up to monitor military intelligence. However, since 2003 the reforms have run into the sand, defeated by Montenegro's indifference, which has rendered further efforts pointless. The increasingly unclear relationship between the two republics has opened up new room for political manoeuvring within the army, especially by conservative forces opposed to cooperation with The Hague tribunal. They are leading the action to block the passage of laws aimed at further regulating control of the armed forces and enforcing transparency in the army budget.

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