Serbia's security chief and trusted ally of ousted Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic has declared that he will not resign, piling more pressure on Serbia's fragile interim government.
In interview published by the news agency Beta on Sunday, Rade Markovic said that he would not step down simply because parties and political leaders were demanding it.
"If the organs of the (Serbian) Republic decided to sack me, I will accept it, of course, but I refuse to resign under pressure from parties and political leaders," he said.
"State security can only be entrusted to a legal and legitimate successor appointed by the Serbian government and the Serbian minister of the Interior," he added.
Markovic has been a thorn in the side of supporters of Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica for weeks following attempts to squeeze him out of office.
Leading figures in the government have admitted that the row has brought government business virtually to a standstill.
Markovic said that he was answerable to the Serbian government and to the minister of the interior and added that the present interim government could remove him from office if all ministers agreed.
Yet decision-making within Serbia's interim government, comprising officials from Milosevic's Socialists (SPS), the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) -- backers of new Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica -- and the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), is a delicate balancing act.
According to the terms of an agreement reached between the three sides on an interim government expected to rule the republic until December polls, the key ministries -- justice, finance, interior and information -- are jointly controlled and decision-making is by consensus.
The DOS and the SPO have repeatedly demanded Markovic's resignation, threatening to quit the government otherwise.
But Milosevic's Socialists have refused to support Markovic's dismissal, considering the demand as "unjustified."
On Wednesday One of Serbia's three interior ministers charged the security strongman with threatening behavior after ministers called on him to stand down.
The ministers had quizzed Markovic about his service's involvement in the murder of prominent journalist Slavko Curuvija.
Curuvija was killed by unidentified gunmen during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign.
Markovic is accused by opposition activists and human rights groups of involvement in a series of politically-related murders, including that of Curuvija.
One of Serbia's three Interior Ministers has admitted he has no control over the state security service because of the row with Markovic.
Asked on November 6 if he had an influence over the Serbian state security department to prevent the shredding of important files, Bozo Prelevic, minister from the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) said: "I have no power in that sense" -- BELGRADE (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
