Taking Out Traffickers - European Union Police Mission in Bosnia ...

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Police in BiHIn preparation for public relations pro -jects and planned events for 2010, the EUPolice Mission and Forum of BiH policespokespersons organized a two-day strategicworkshop in Mostar, producing concreteplans for summer campaigns on trafficand property safety, Kid , s Festival activities,the autumn media campaign and anumber of other local and regional programs.”We had a very constructive meeting inMostar, on the first day we were taking stockof what was achieved with the anti-corruptioncampaign and on the second day wefocused on proposals from the local police inrelation to their future PR activities, withconcrete slogans, taglines and even designideas,” said Kilian Wahl, Chief EUPM Pressand Public Information Office.The Forum carefully assessed resultsachieved by the ”Corruption takes everythingfrom you” campaign in each regionand decided to continue with messages relatedto police work and police-citizens cooperationin the fight against organized crimeand corruption. This will especially be theNewcomersFRANCEVesna Marinkovi}, 28, joined theEUPM as Analyst within the MissionAnalytical Capability (MAC). Shecomes from France and holds aMaster’s Degree in Political Science,Master’s Degree in Euro pe an andInterna ti onal Law and is completinga Ph.D. thesis on energy security. Be fore joining themission, Marinkovi} worked as a Pro g ram Assistant atDCAF, Geneva, in the field of Security Sector Reformmainly in Western Balkans and South Caucasus. Shealso worked as a project coordinator for a program onthe OSCE at the Center for International Governance,Geneva, and participated in several Election Obser -vation Missions with the OSCE/ODIHR (Azer baijan,Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine). Marinkovi} also worked at theFrench Embassy in Cyprus for one year.GERMANYGunnar Eichholz, 44, joined the EUPM as SeniorAnalyst/Head of Mission Analytical Ca pability(MAC). He comes from Germany and holds a Mas -ter’s degree in Po litical Scien ce/Southeast Asian Stu -My Police, My Friend:Promoting Safety,Positive Behaviorfocus of the autumn campaign, together withthe promotion of the police emergency number,122.Summer activitiesTraditionally, the EUPM and BiH lawenforcement agencies have used the summermonths for short but strong public awarenesscampaigns on issues of the greatestconcern and interest to society. The Forumhas decided to focus the summer projects onproperty and traffic safety as they become anincreasing problem during the summer vacationseason, notorious for an increase in burglariesand car thefts, as well as an increasein the number of traffic accidents. The citizenswill be addressed through TV spots onhow to protect property, while drivers willbe rewarded for safe driving.In addition, all police agencies will takepart in the Kid’s Festival Police Day on June13, where children from the entire countrywill be able to take part in a traffic school,see a presentation of police dogs, attend alecture on Internet safety, and learn moreabout several aspects of police work.dies and a degree in Finance. Afterworking in fi nan ce industry formany years, Eichholz shifted hiscareer into working abroad in conflictand post-conflict countriessuch as East Timor, WestBank/Gaza, Afghanistan and Indo -nesia. Prior to joining the mission, he was working forEUPOL Afghanistan as a Senior Analyst/Deputy Headof Strategy, Planning, Analysis and Reporting. Havingworked out of Europe for some years, Eichholz says:”I am very interested to work for the EUPM in supportto strengthening Bosnia and Herzegovina institutionsalong the justice chain, with the goal of Bosnia andHerzegovina to further integrate into the EU”.SLOVENIAMatjaz Kova~, 39, joined the EUPMas Crime Adviser to SIPA. Hecomes from Slo venia, where he finishedthe Uni ver sity for Police andSecurity Studies. His position inthe national police is Deputy Headof Europol National Unit in theGeneral Police Directorate, and he holds the rank ofThe Forum endorsed the continuation ofcooperation with the Kids Festival organizersand encouraged police agencies to usethis event as a platform to interact with childrenin the scope of Police Day, as they havedone in previous years. The Forum taskedmembers to consult superiors and developplans for individual presentations.”We want to present our activities, ourtasks and achievements at the Kid’sFestival,” said Irfan Nefi}, Spokesperson ofSarajevo Canton Police and coordinator ofKid’s Festival Police Day on behalf of theForum. ”We want both parents and childrento know that the police is a friend, of assistanceand at service to citizens. We wouldlike to encourage children to recognize whatis good and to promote a certain way ofbehavior based on positive approaches suchas socializing, learning, playing sports,engaging in contests of knowledge, abilitiesand skills, and placing a special emphasison no violence, no drugs.”The Forum will meet again in May, whenthey will present the project overviews andconcepts to BiH police directors, commissionersand chiefs. Detective Chief Ins pec tor. Kova~’s field of exper tiseand police experience includes organized crime investigations,SWAT Team activities, international policeco-operation (Europol, Interpol, SIRENE, SECI…).This is his second international police mission — hewas also a part of the UN peace-keeping mission inKosovo, where he worked as Chief of Intelligence Unitin Pri{tina region. When asked what motivated him tojoin the EUPM, Kova~ says: ”The EUPM is my secondinternational mission. I like to work in a multiculturaland multinational environment and I believe that my 20years of police experience may help to make local po -lice more effective in combating all types of crime.” Heis married, with two children, and his favorite free-timeactivities are sports, parenting and walks with the dog.SWEDENMagnus Hasselqvist, 54, joinedthe EUPM as Crime Adviser atRegional Offi ce Sarajevo. He comesfrom Swe den, where he is the Headof the Crime Intelligence Unit at theCounty Police of Jönköping. Heholds the rank of Cri mi nal Ins pec -tor and has more than 30 years of service. Hasselqvist6 www.eupm.orgEuropean Union Police Mission
CampaignThe recent ”Corruption takes everythingfrom you” public awareness campaign,implemented jointly by the EUPolice Mission and BiH law enforcementagencies from the beginning of De cem -ber last year has sparked a series ofdebates on the problem of corruption inall strata of society. The EUPM hosted aworkshop which gathered members ofyouth and student associations; BanjaLuka Public Security Centre (PSC)organized a roundtable and presentedthe project ”Prevention of Corruptionwithin the Republika Srpska Ministry ofInterior”, while Br~ko District Policeheld a two-day seminar in cooperationwith the Youth Centre Vermont.”I am personally impressed that thereare young people who think about solutionsto the issue of corruption,” said Ste -fan Feller, Head of the EU Police Mission,to the participants of the EUPM-organizedworkshop. ”We here at the EUPM areopen to your ideas and how you see corruptionaffecting your lives because youare the future here. It’s up to you what youmake out of it and how you confront andinfluence the system.”While the workshop yielded a list ofconstructive anti-corruption activities thatcould be implemented in local communities,faculties and schools, the participantsof the roundtable in Banja Luka focusedon methods and mechanisms used byinstitutions to prevent internal corruption. Commissioner Stefan Feller at the anti-corruption workshop with studentsPreparing the Fighting GroundAnti-Corruption Campaign Inspires Citizens’ InvolvementThey commended police agencies for havinga strategy in combating corruption andfor ”regularly informing the citizensabout the results they have achieved” inthis field, thus finding continuous mediapromotion of anti-corruption activitiescrucial.A few days later, at a seminar organizedby Br~ko District Police and non-governmentalorganization ”Vermont”, citizensraised concerns regarding corruption andnepotism in local institutions. The discussionproduced a proposal to conduct publicopinion surveys in local communities,and make a plan of action based on theresults.”The citizens showed a willingness todeal with the issue of corruption andcooperate with the police,” said Br~koDistrict Police Chief, Goran Luji}. ”Weplan to organize similar events in everylocal community in order to fight corruptionmore efficiently and improve coope -ration with citizens.” graduated from the police academy in 1977 and startedworking in Stockholm Police Department as apatrol officer. He later worked on investigations andcrime intelligence, holding various posts at nationaland regional levels. His previous international missionexperience includes UNMIS in Sudan in 2007. Whenasked what motivated him to join the EUPM,Hasselqvist says: ”The first mission was late in mycareer. It was interesting and I enjoyed working withcolleagues from other countries. You learn muchwhile in a mission, both personally and in the field ofpolice work”. He is married, with two grown children.He has many hobbies, from reading to outdoor activities,travelling and renovating his cottage.THE NETHERLANDSTeunis Morang, 54, joined theEUPM as Adviser to Border Policein Sarajevo Headquarters. He co mesfrom the Netherlands, where hejoined the police service directlyafter high school in 1974. Moranghas been working in the Royal Ma -rechaussee force for more than 36 years, holding theposition of Team Leader and the rank of First Lieu te -nant. He was working on criminal investigations relatedto migration, such as the fight against human trafficking,identity fraud and smuggling of drugs and fire -arms. His previous international police mission expe -rience includes UNIPTF in BiH 1996-1997, NATO inItaly within the Deployable Air Task Force regarding theKosovo crisis in 1999, and the EUPM in 2003/2004 asSIPA Criminal Investigation Department Adviser. Whenasked what motivated him to join the EUPM, Morangsays: ”I was motivated to rejoin another mission in thiscountry as I believe with all of us, national and internationalstaff, we will be able to improve the performanceof Bosnian Police to a higher level.” He is married, withthree children. When it comes to his free-time activities,Morang has a passion for motocross racing, but healso enjoys running and other sport activities.Monique van Opstal, 32, joined theEUPM as Immigration Adviser. Shecomes from the Netherlands, andholds the position of Senior PolicyOfficer on migration affairs and bordercontrol at the Im mi gration andNaturalization Service (INS). VanOpstal has a Bache lor’s Degree in Euro pean Studiesand Master’s Degree in International Relations. Herspecific field of expertise is visa policy, implementationof Schengen requirements for visas and borders,national and international border control, includingautomation of border control. She also has practicalexperience with visa processes, and removal andreturn procedures. Although this is her first police mission,Van Opstal has substantial international experience,including being a member of the EU SchengenEvaluation Committee on land-, sea- and air-bordersfor ’new’ EU Member States, a short-term expert inseveral EU Twinning and ICMPD projects, leading theinternational team on automated border control projectbetween NL and US. When asked what motivated herto join the EUPM, Van Opstal says: ”While working inso many different countries in Europe for just a shortperiod, I felt the urge to stay somewhere in Europe fora longer period, to try to go beyond training and quickanalyses and actually help the national authorities withthe follow-up, the implementation: the real thing. Itturned out to be in BiH!”. Her favorite free time activitiesare yoga and jogging, spending time with friends,travelling and discovering other cultures, taking part inamateur theatre classes and reading. She is also a certifiedwine taster and a volunteer for the projectWomen Inc of the ’Cultuurfabriek’, which is focusedon linking women from all around the world. European Union Police Mission www.eupm.org 7
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