The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection Mr. Rodoljub Sabic and Mr. Bernd Florat, the Director of Research and Educational Projects at the Trusteeship of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Handling of Dossiers of the Ministry for State Security of the former German Democratic Republic (Stasi) spoke today about the German experiences in handling dossiers of secret services of the former regime.

Stating that the German experiences are invaluable for each country facing similar issues, the Commissioner Mr. Rodoljub Sabic also said the following:

«The manner in which Germany solved the issue of handling of the former regime secret services dossiers represents, in scope, seriousness, and responsibility, probably the best example in the existing comparative international practice.

The main aspect is that, in Germany, this question was not treated as a daily political issue, as an opportunity to achieve results in the field of political marketing, but as a problem that has to be solved, because the attitude of Germany towards its past, but also towards the future based on democracy and the respect for human rights, depended on its resolution.

That is why Germany mobilized resources for this task that are almost unimaginable from our own perspective. Mr. Florat informed me that, at one time, there were almost 3,500 employees working at the Trusteeship for the Handling of Stasi Dossiers. Even today, when a great number of cases have been solved, this institution employs around 2,000 members of personnel, and has an annual budget of about 100 million euros.

We, in order to solve the same issue, do not need nearly as many resources luckily. But, the resources cannot be inadequate. That is why, the basic precondition for a serious and responsible conversation about the possibility of passing a Law on the Handling of the Former Regime Secret Services Dossiers in Serbia is the awareness of the necessary personnel, logistical, material, and other resources, and, what is even more important, the readiness to truly make these resources available and functioning. Unfortunately, in our experience so far, the attitude towards this very important issue shows a lack of presence of such awareness and of such readiness.»