GREGORY COPLEY:

MONARCHY SOLVES POLITICAL CRISIS

TV Voice of America, 5 December 2003 - The guest of the TV Voice of America on Friday, 5 December was Mr. Gregory Copley, the editor of “Defense and Foreign Affairs – Strategic Policy” magazine. The interview was conducted by Mr. Branko Mikasinovic, the editor of the VOA in Serbian. Mr. Copley commented the current political crisis and the failed presidential elections in Serbia, pointing out that the reestablishment of constitutional parliamentary monarchy in Serbia is a solution to the political crisis.

“The elections are a reflection the unsettled political situation on the country, with split up interests and parties. As one of the solutions to the political crisis, Serbian Orthodox Church and Crown Prince Alexander II Karadjordjevic have initiated the issue of reestablishment of the constitutional parliamentary monarchy in Serbia” – said Copley.

“This is very important, for it could provide continuity of the state, like in many countries in the world, such as Australia, Malaysia, Canada etc, since the constitutional parliamentary monarchy would protect the state structure and the constitution through its mediating and symbolic role, while the parties would go on with their normal political activities” – believes Mr. Copley.

“The reestablishment of monarchy in Serbia would not influence the present State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Each of them would have their own political structure, and on the level of the State Union, there would be a president, or another form of a joint ruling body, independent from the monarchy. Both members of the State Union would be able to function according to their traditional structures and within the accepted federal form, although one of them would be a monarchy and the other a republic” – concluded Mr. Copley.