Svi poslovni aranžmani sa Emiratima štetni za Srbiju (ENGLISH)

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Toliko je naime prošlo od kako je Marinika Tepić, potpredsednica Stranke slobode i pravde izjavila u intervjuu za naš list da su „dilovi Srbije sa UAE počeli upravo zbog interesovanja Bin Zajeda, prestolonaslednika te zemlje, za naše oružje“ te da su svi drugi poslovi sa tom zalivskom državom „paravan za trgovinu oružjem prelivenu u „Beograd na vodi“ zbog čega je „porušena polovina centra Beograda“.

Da li postoji bilo kakav ugovor ili dokument kojim se Srbija, kao uslov za investicije UAE u našoj zemlji, obavezuje na trgovinu oružjem sa UAE pokušali smo da saznamo u Vladi i Ministarstvu odbrane Srbije. Iz Vlade, kao što je i uobičajeno kada god se radi o temama poput izgradnje „Beograda na vodi“, nismo dobili bilo kakav odgovor dok nam je Ministarstvo odbrane odgovorilo da nije nadležno za sklapanje poslova, poput trgovine oružjem, i uputilo nas da se obratimo Ministarstvu trgovine, turizma i telekomunikacija.

Nakon toga, obratili smo i tom ministarstvu međutim do zaključenja ovog izdanja našeg lista nismo dobili odgovor na postavljena pitanja.

Domaća stručna javnost pak, uz ogradu da se ne zna kakve su ugovore potpisivali Beograd i Dubai, ističe da Ujedinjeni Arapski Emirati nisu imali poseban razlog da vezuju trgovinu oružjem sa našom sa zemljom i investicije u „Beograd na vodi“, JAT i PKB jer su sve tri izuzetno povoljne za investitore iz UAE i potpuno štetne za Srbiju.

Takođe, eksperti smatraju da je sklapanje ugovora o trgovini oružjem sa Ujedinjenim Arapskim Emiratima, zemljom koja učestvuje u vojnim konfliktima u svom okruženju, veoma loše za imidž Srbije jer ona na taj način krši međunarodne sporazume.

Sa druge strane, ono što privlači pažnju javnosti je da zemlja sa kojom je, na tom planu, Srbija ostvarivala simboličnu saradnju, sada postaje veliki kupac srpskog naoružanja i opreme. Koincidencija je da do toga dolazi baš u vreme potpisivanja ugovora o izgradnji „Beograda na vodi“ i drugih investicija sa nadležnima u Dubaiju.

– Ne verujem da su predstavnici Ujedinjenih Arapskih Emirata insistirali na tome da trgovina oružjem bude uslov za investicije u Srbiju. Razlog je veoma jednostavan. Vi uslovljavate kako biste dobili određenu pogodnost činjenjem protivusluge. U konkretnom slučaju za to nema potrebe jer su sve tri investicije, „Beograd na vodi“, JAT i PKB bile veoma povoljne po investitore iz UAE. Kada je pak o Srbiji reč situacija je potpuno drugačija jer je u sva tri slučaja zabeležena šteta po njene ekonomske interese – kaže za Danas advokat Branko Pavlović.

On dodaje da je šteta načinjena i zbog toga što Srbija prodaje oružje Ujedinjenim Arapskim Emiratima.

– Drugim rečima, Srbija ne treba da učestvuje u aranžmanima vezanim za trgovinu oružjem u slučaju ako to predstavlja kršenje međunarodnih sporazuma. To je veoma loše za imidž zemlje i takve poslove ne treba praktikovati – navodi naš sagovornik.

Ekonomista Milan R. Kovačević takođe zaključuje da su investitori iz Ujedinjenih Arapskih Emirata profitirali iz svih aranžmana sklopljenih sa Srbijom te da nisu imali potrebu da njihovu realizaciju uslovljavaju bilo čime.

– Ako je pak u ugovorima ili nekim sporazumom predviđeno da je Srbija u obavezi da izvozi oružje u UAE da bi se ostvarile konkretne investicije onda možemo da konstatujemo da je to greška i propust nadležnih u Beogradu. Osnovni problem je u tome što srpska strana kada sklapa poslove sa stranim partnerima ne ume da sagleda da li je, svaki od njih pojedinačno, povoljan i dobar za njene interese. Sva tri projekta koja su realizovana sa UAE su veoma loša za Srbiju a jedini koji je iz toga ostvario korist je Dubai – navodi Kovačević.

Podsećanja radi, prema tvrdnjama stručne javnosti, izvoz oružja u UAE i druge sporne krajnje destinacije predstavlja kršenje Sporazuma Ujedinjenih nacija o trgovini oružjem (ATT), ali za tako nešto ne postoje jasne sankcije, što je problem na globalnom nivou.

Ne radi se samo o nepoštovanju ATT, već i našeg Zakona o izvozu i uvozu naoružanja i vojne opreme koji takođe propisuje da se pri izvozu naoružanja razmatra da li postoji rizik od preusmeravanja ili reeksporta u neželjene destinacije. Otkrića različitih medija i međunarodnih organizacija u prethodnih nekoliko godina jasno ukazuju da se oružje pristiglo u UAE i Saudijsku Arabiju preusmerava dalje i završava u rukama različitih ekstremističkih grupa ili diktatorskih režima, u zemljama u kojima dolazi do kršenja ljudskih prava.

Naime, Ujedinjeni Arapski Emirati, koji kupuju oružje proizvedeno u našoj zemlji, direktno učestvuju u građanskom ratu u Jemenu, na strani aktuelne vlade a protiv pobunjenika koji imaju podršku Irana.

Takođe, UAE u Libiji pružaju vojnu podršku i generalu Kalifi Haftaru koji je u oružanom konfliktu sa međunarodno priznatom vladom u Tripoliju. Trupe Ujedinjenih Arapskih Emirata su svojevremeno vojno intervenisale, na poziv vlade Bahreina, tokom nasilnog gušenja građanskih protesta u toj zemlji tokom takozvanog „Arapskog proleća“. Zbog toga a i niza drugih stvari stručna javnost smatra da je izvoz srpskog oružja u tu zemlju potpuno problematičan.

Otkako je na vlasti u Srbiji Srpska napredna stranka, saradnja naše zemlje u trgovini oružjem sa Ujedinjenim Arapskim Emiratima ubrzano je krenula uzlaznom putanjom. Prema dostupnim podacima, u 2018. u Emirate je iz Srbije izvezeno više od 14.000 artiljerijskih raketa, pet višecevnih lansera raketa od 105 i 122 milimetara, dok je „Zastava“ toj zalivskoj zemlji isporučila 23.000 pušaka, 2.000 puškomitralljeza, 100 „teških“ mitraljeza i drugo naoružanje.

Sadržaj je rezultat istraživanja sprovedenog u okviru projekta „Transparentnost učešća države u stranim investicionim projektima“. Stavovi izneti u tekstu su stavovi autora i ne izražavaju nužno stavove donatora

ENGLISH VERSION

All Business Arrangements With the Emirates Are Harmful for Serbia

For more than two years, the authorities have been persistently silent to the claims that the United Arab Emirates conditioned the development of „Belgrade Waterfront“ complex as well as the purchase of JAT and PKB on Serbia’s commitment to arms trade with this country.

Two years have passed since Marinika Tepić, the vice president of the Freedom and Justice Party, said in an interview for our paper that „Serbia’s dealings with the UAE began precisely because of the interest that Bin Zayed, the country’s heir to the throne, had in our weapons“ and that, for this Gulf state, everything else has been only a smokescreen for the arms trade incorporated in the „Belgrade Waterfront“ development project, because of which „half of the center of Belgrade has been destroyed“.

We have tried to find out from the Government and the Ministry of Defense of Serbia whether there is any agreement or document by which Serbia, as a condition for the UAE investments in our country, has committed to arms trade with Dubai. In line with the established manner of the Republic Government in dealing with any inquiry on issues such as the “Belgrade Waterfront” development project, we have received no reply whatsoever from the Government, while the Ministry of Defense replied that no deals, including arms trade deals, are part of their jurisdiction and instructed us to contact the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications. As advised, we addressed this ministry with the same questions, but we did not receive any answer from them either by the time the prepress for this issue of our paper had to be completed.

The domestic expert public, with the caveat that the details of the agreements Belgrade and Dubai have signed are not known, points out that the United Arab Emirates had no special reason to link arms trade with our country and investments in „Belgrade Waterfront“, JAT and PKB, because all three projects are extremely favorable for investors from the UAE and extremely harmful for Serbia.

Also, experts believe that concluding an agreement on arms trade with the United Arab Emirates, a country that actively participates in military conflicts in its surroundings, is very bad for Serbia’s image because it violates international agreements.

What has particularly caught the public’s attention is that, while the level of arms trade cooperation between Serbia and the UAE in the past was symbolic, the UAE has now become a major buyer of Serbian weapons and military equipment. This coincided with the time of signing the agreements on the development of „Belgrade Waterfront“ and other joint investments with the Dubai authorities.

– I do not believe that the representatives of the United Arab Emirates insisted that the arms trade be a condition for investments in Serbia. The reason is very simple. Conditioning is used in order to get a certain benefit by doing a counter-service. In this particular case, there was no need for that because all three investments, „Belgrade Waterfront“, JAT and PKB, were very favorable for the UAE investors. When it comes to Serbia, the situation is completely different because of the far-reaching damage to its economic interests – lawyer Branko Pavlović told Danas.

He added that Serbia’s weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates have been harmful for our country.

– In other words, Serbia should not participate in any arms trade arrangements in case it is a violation of international agreements. This is very bad for the country’s image and such deals should not be made – our interlocutor noted.

Economist Milan R. Kovačević also concludes that investors from the United Arab Emirates profited substantively from all arrangements made with Serbia and that they did not need to condition their implementation with anything.

– If there are any agreements or an agreement that stipulate that Serbia is obliged to export weapons to the UAE in order to facilitate specific investments, then we can say that it is a mistake and a serious oversight of the authorities in Belgrade. The main problem is that the Serbian side, when concluding deals with foreign partners, seems to be incapable of determining clearly whether they are truly favorable and good for its interests. All three projects that have been implemented with the UAE are very bad for Serbia, and the only party that has benefited from them is in Dubai – Kovačević says.

The experts note that the export of weapons to the UAE and other disputed end users is a violation of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), but there are no clear sanctions for such violations, which is a problem at the global level. It is not only about violating the ATT, but also our Law on Export and Import of Arms and Military Equipment, which also prescribes that, when exporting weapons, it is considered whether there is a risk of redirection or re-export to unwanted destinations. The findings of various media and international organizations in the past few years clearly indicate that weapons, which arrive in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are redirected further and end up in the hands of various extremist groups or dictatorial regimes, and in countries notorious of serious human rights violations.

Namely, the United Arab Emirates, which buys weapons produced in Serbia, is a direct participant in the civil war in Yemen, on the side of the current government and against the rebels who have the support of Iran.

In Libya, the UAE has been also providing military support to General Khalifa Haftar, who is in armed conflict with the internationally recognized government in Tripoli. Troops of the United Arab Emirates intervened militarily, at the invitation of the government of Bahrain, during the violent suppression of civil protests in that country during the so-called „Arab Spring“. Due to that, as well as a number of other aspects, the expert public believes that the export of Serbian weapons to the UAE  country is utterly problematic.

Since the Serbian Progressive Party came to power in Serbia, our country’s arms trade cooperation with the United Arab Emirates has taken a sharp upward trajectory. According to available data, in 2018 alone, more than 14,000 artillery missiles, five multi-barrel rocket launchers of 105 and 122 millimeters were exported from Serbia to the Emirates, while „Zastava“ delivered 23,000 rifles, 2,000 machine guns, 100 „heavy“ machine guns and other weapons to this Gulf country.

The content is the result of the research carried out within the project „Transparency of State Participation in Foreign Investment Projects“. The views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the donor.