Committee on Defence and Security attends Gendarmerie demonstration exercise

Members of the Committee visited the Gendarmerie Training Centre in Kula. Visitors, apart from Committee members, included the Minister of the Interior, Dusan Mihajlovic, the Minister of Defence of Serbia and Montenegro, Boris Tadic, Chief of Staff of the Army of Serbia and Montenegro, General Branko Krga, head of the Serbian Police’s Public Security Service, General Sreten Lukic, as well as a large number of military and police attachés serving with foreign embassies in Belgrade.

Members of the Gendarmerie performed a demonstration exercise showing the level of preparedness for carrying out the most complex security-related tasks. The Gendarmes demonstrated hand-to-hand combat techniques, defence against attackers armed with knives, clubs and guns, as well as rescuing hostages, dealing with urban warfare situations and exiting and defending a vehicle under attack. After the tactical exercises were completed, members of the Committee and other visiting officials had a chance to become acquainted with equipment and weapons used by the unit.

The demonstration was attended by guests from Austria - members of the Kobra élite unit - who have announced the possibility of co-operating with members of the Serbian Gendarmerie.