Demonstrations against President Aleksandar Vucic, Belgrade, Serbia

Nević Nenad

The Living Force
BELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of people have protested in Serbia for a fourth consecutive week over what they say has been a stifling of democratic freedoms under President Aleksandar Vucic.
Demonstrators marched through central Belgrade on Saturday, carrying banners, blowing whistles and chanting “Vucic thief!” while blocking downtown traffic.
Government opponents say Vucic has imposed tight controls on mainstream media and sidelined critical voices. Vucic has denied the allegations.
The protests started after thugs beat up an opposition politician last month. Government opponents say the attack resulted from hate speech fostered by Vucic’s administration.
The recent street demonstrations have been one of the biggest expressions of discontent with the current Serbian government.
A former extreme nationalist, Vucic has said he wants to lead Serbia into the European Union.





Thousands gather for fourth anti-government protest in Belgrade | N1 Srbija

Thousands protest against Serbian president | Reuters

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nati...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9d0d61f01892

Serbs Rally Against Government For Fourth Straight Week

Belgrade Sees Fourth Antigovernment Protest March
 
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January 12, 2019 - I suspect these protests were arranged by NATO allies and were assembled right after President Vucic met with President Putin in Moscow last May 8th? Vucic has stated, "Serbia will preserve its independence. Serbia will preserve its military neutrality and is not going to become a member of NATO or any other military alliance."

Vucic further stated, "On behalf of Serbian citizens, I would like to thank you for the support that you have always granted Serbia in times of trial."

"As you know, nothing is less enduring in international relations than gratitude, and I would like to thank you once again for what you did in 2015 when you literally saved the Serbian people, that have been one of the most suffering nation during the past century, from the stigma of genocide by vetoing the UN British resolution."

"I would like to assure you that the Serbian people will never forget what you have done. You (Russia) have protected Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty many times."

President Putin is also scheduled to visit Serbia next Thursday.

May 8, 2018 The Kremlin, Moscow
Meeting with President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic

LaFsbEnyWsXcVR92UWITBAU9fPYotNpO.jpg


January 12, 2019 - Protests against Serbia's President Vucic enter sixth week
Protests against Serbia's President Vucic enter sixth week | Reuters

Thousands of Serbians protested in Belgrade on Saturday against President Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), making demands including media freedom, an end to attacks on journalists and opposition figures, and no secret treaty with Kosovo.

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Demonstrators march during a protest against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his government in central Belgrade, Serbia, January 12, 2019. REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic

Protesters brought together by the Alliance for Serbia, a loose grouping of 30 opposition parties and organizations, chanted “Vucic, thief!” in the sixth such protest in as many weeks.

The opposition rally comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit scheduled for next Thursday.

While Vucic says membership of the European Union remains Serbia’s ultimate goal, he maintains close ties with Russia, long a Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally of the country.

Putin’s visit is seen as a popularity booster for Vucic and his ruling coalition, and his supporters have scheduled a major rally for Thursday to welcome the Russian president.

In December, Vucic said he would not bow to opposition demands “even if there were 5 million people in the street”, but said he would be willing to hold a snap election. Opposition parties said they would boycott such an election.

Vucic has the backing of around 53 percent of the electorate. His coalition also has a majority of 160 deputies in the 250 seat parliament. If the opposition parties ran as an alliance, they could count on only around 15 percent of the vote.


In regards to Kosovo:

January 11, 2019 - Former Kosovo guerrillas to testify before Hague Court
Former Kosovo guerrillas to testify before Hague court | Reuters

A court examining war crimes against ethnic Serbs in Kosovo has asked several ex-commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to attend a preliminary hearing next week, part of a process that could help calm tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.

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FILE PHOTO: Protesters demonstrate against a parliamentary vote to create a new war crimes court in Pristina, Kosovo May 29, 2015. REUTERS/Hazir Reka/File Photo

But the process also has the potential to trigger a political crisis in Kosovo, whose leaders are mostly ex-KLA commanders. Kosovars mostly view the former fighters as heroes for battling Serb forces in the 1998-99 independence war and fear they could be indicted.

The Specialist Chamber was set up in The Hague in 2015 to handle cases of alleged crimes by KLA guerrillas during the war that led to Kosovo’s secession from Serbia. Kosovo’s Western allies have insisted that Pristina cooperate with the court.

“I never went to Belgrade to fight but I did fight to protect my country,” Sabahajdin Cena, one of the ex-KLA commanders asked to testify next week, told Reuters.

“This court is trying to equate the victim with the aggressor,” said Cena, who will testify in Pristina.

Ex-KLA commanders Sami Lushtaku and Rrustem Mustafa confirmed they would travel to The Hague to testify next week. Local Kosovo media said one veteran KLA fighter had gone into hiding when he received his invitation to attend.

“HUGE IMPACT”
Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and parliamentary speaker Kadri Veseli are all former KLA commanders and could potentially be indicted by the court or called as witnesses, Kosovo media have reported.

A 2011 report that led to the creation of the court linked Thaci and some other leading Kosovo figures to gruesome wartime crimes against Serbs, including trade in organs harvested from prisoners of war. Thaci has denied any wrongdoing.

“Any eventual invitation to the main leaders will have a huge impact on the image of the country,” said Imer Mushkolaj, a political analyst in Pristina.

It was not clear how many ex-fighters have been asked to testify in the first hearing and how many of them would travel to the Netherlands to do so.

The special prosecutor’s office in The Hague, contacted by Reuters, declined to comment on this or future hearings or to say whether they might result in any indictments.

The office has the authority “to request the presence of and to question suspects, victims and witnesses, if necessary summonsing these persons, collect and examine information and evidence”, spokesperson Christopher Bennett told Reuters.

As well as the killing of Serbs, the court will also investigate the killing of some Albanians who were seen as collaborating with the Serbian authorities at that time.

The Specialist Chamber is governed by Kosovo law, but is staffed by international judges and prosecutors. It is funded by the European Union, which both Kosovo and Serbia hope to join.

The court sits in The Hague partly to help ensure protection of witnesses. Previous cases involving high-ranking former KLA officers have seen witness intimidation.

The KLA rose up against Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in the last 1990s, eventually winning crucial NATO air support that halted the killing and expulsion of Kosovo Albanian civilians during a brutal counter-insurgency campaign.

Kosovo, with a 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognized by over 110 states, but not by five EU member states, Serbia or Russia.

Relations between Kosovo and Serbia remain tense, but the EU has told both countries they will not be allowed to join the bloc unless they normalize relations.
 
Я честно скажу, что не очень сильно разбираюсь в тонкостях внутренней политики Сербии. Однако на мой взгляд, то что сейчас там происходит, больше всего похоже на украинскую историю. Силы, которые осуществляют власть пытаются усидеть одной жопой на двух стульях. Украинские события 2013 года отчетливо показали чем заканчивается такая политика. Вместе с тем в существующей разрозненной оппозиции верх всегда одержат те, кого будут поддерживать мощные внешние силы. К чему это приводит мы опять же со всей отчетливостью видим на Украине. Как то так. :umm:

Translation
I will honestly say that I do not know much about the intricacies of Serbia's domestic policy. However, in my opinion, what is happening there now is most similar to Ukrainian history. The forces that exercise power are trying to sit on two chairs with one ass. Ukrainian events in 2013 clearly showed how this policy ends. However, in the current fragmented opposition, those who will be supported by powerful external forces will always prevail. What this means, we again clearly see in Ukraine. Something like that.:umm:
 
The opposition rally comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit scheduled for next Thursday.

President Putin is visiting Serbia, today. Along with a ceremonial dinner in Putin’s honor, a number of agreements will be signed in the sphere of energy industry, especially gas supplies and the construction of gas infrastructure, cooperation with the Russian Railways, two agreements in the sphere of education between Russian and Serbian universities and a great number of agreements in digital economy and innovations."
Putin’s visit to Serbia is event of utmost importance — Serbian president’s administration
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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Russian President Vladimir Putin
© Mikhail Klimentiev/Russia's presidential press service/TASS


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Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic
© Mikhail Klimentyev/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS


President Vucuc gave Putin a four-month old Sarplaninac puppy.
Serbian leader presents Putin with Sarplaninac puppy during Belgrade visit

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© Mikhail Klimentiev/Russia's presidential press service/TASS

The Sarplaninac or Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog is a canine breed, which hails from the Balkan Peninsula that is used to protect flocks of sheep in the mountains and as a guard dog. According to legend, Alexander the Great’s warriors had imported the ancestors of these dogs, the Tibetan mastiffs, during his eastern military campaigns.


Jan. 17, 2019 - http://tass.com/world/1040516
Russia and Serbia have signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear development.
According to CEO, though that is a framework agreement to serve as a basis for the work, on the one hand, "on the other hand, it has certain innovations." For example, "for the first time the provisions on cooperation in the innovations and digital field are included directly in the body of the agreement," he said, adding that "Rosatom and respective Serbian companies have already started the work.".


Jan. 17, 2019 - Russia and Serbia sign transport agreement for 230 mln euro
Russia and Serbia signed on Thursday a transport agreement for 230 mln euro, which includes electrotechnical works on the Stara-Pazova - Novi-Sad section, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021. The agreement also implies construction of a train control center in the republic.
 
I think that these protests in Serbia and those in Republika Srpska have a lot of "colored revolutions" elements. Obviously, NATO's psychopaths are annoyed by the growing ties between the Serbian and Russian people/politics.

Like many, I have objections to the work of Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, but perhaps the word "psychopath" is inaccurate in his case, I think that the word "narcissistic" would be more appropriate to him.
It was a great pleasure to see with what excitement and popularity Putin met in Belgrade. The Serbs have long been targeted by the New World Order as a demonized and satanic nation, like butchers and frivolous extremists, and I think that this open and unwavering support and cooperation with Russia and Putin will provoke further anger and pressure on the Serbs.
Anyway, I'm glad that at this turbulent moment, the Serbs bowed openly to Putin and Russia, and in that way, at least, distanced themselves from NATO and the EU psychopathy.
It is much easier today to bow to a strong Putin's Russia and together be "a disturbing culprit", because if we have learned anything from the 1990s, it is to deal with this role that has been assigned to Russia today.
 
I'm glad that we had such a nice weather for Putin's visit. :-)

Laura would perhaps said that STO forces on 4D had a shine on us today. :-D

Speaking of Vucic, he reminds me of Macron. US doesn't like him because he is not openly pro-west, but I don't think that that makes him a positive leader, and he also surrounded himself with a lot of bad characters, to put it mildly. But as long as EU leaders like him, he will remain as a supreme leader of Serbia.

200 euros is the average wage in Serbia, so I've heard, that's the reason for the protest itself. I'm not going to comment anything else because this is horrible with today's costs of living.

It is low, but not that low. You have this map of average wages in Europe: List of European countries by average wage - Wikipedia
 
I'm glad that we had such a nice weather for Putin's visit. :-)

Laura would perhaps said that STO forces on 4D had a shine on us today. :-D

Speaking of Vucic, he reminds me of Macron. US doesn't like him because he is not openly pro-west, but I don't think that that makes him a positive leader, and he also surrounded himself with a lot of bad characters, to put it mildly. But as long as EU leaders like him, he will remain as a supreme leader of Serbia.



It is low, but not that low. You have this map of average wages in Europe: List of European countries by average wage - Wikipedia
You are the local so you know how it is but look at the average of my country Croatia and until recently I worked for 345 euros a month, so my idea is many people have lower wages than average
 
You are the local so you know how it is but look at the average of my country Croatia and until recently I worked for 345 euros a month, so my idea is many people have lower wages than average

Of course. There is also a median wage, which is lower than average, and it finally recently became published in statistics. And there is also the abusement of worker's rights, which are sometimes receiving less than minimum wage. But at least theoretically, the average wages shouldn't be that low because the minimum wage in this month, for example, will be 242 euros. In Croatia it will be 404 euros?

But it's not just about the money that you receive, but also about the money that you have to give to the government, which every year asks for more and more. They are squeezing people more than ever before. Which is understandable, because as the privatization continues, they are left with less and less money that they can extract from companies, so they have to extract it from general population. In Croatia you have huge VAT, in Serbia you have huge fuel tax, and a lot of other small taxes all over the place.
 
Of course. There is also a median wage, which is lower than average, and it finally recently became published in statistics. And there is also the abusement of worker's rights, which are sometimes receiving less than minimum wage. But at least theoretically, the average wages shouldn't be that low because the minimum wage in this month, for example, will be 242 euros. In Croatia it will be 404 euros?

But it's not just about the money that you receive, but also about the money that you have to give to the government, which every year asks for more and more. They are squeezing people more than ever before. Which is understandable, because as the privatization continues, they are left with less and less money that they can extract from companies, so they have to extract it from general population. In Croatia you have huge VAT, in Serbia you have huge fuel tax, and a lot of other small taxes all over the place.
Of course. I don't know how will this end. I have some new neighbours from Serbia coming here to work stepping into for Croats that moved to Ireland. Crazy!
 
The Alliance for Serbia held another protest against Vucic.

January 19, 2019 - More than 10,000 protest in Belgrade against Serbian President
More than 10,000 protest in Belgrade against Serbian president | Reuters


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People walk during an anti-government protest in Belgrade, Serbia, January 19, 2019. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

More than 10,000 people marched through Belgrade on Saturday evening to protest against the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), demanding media freedom as a precondition for free and fair elections.

Protesters brought together by the Alliance for Serbia, a loose grouping of 30 opposition parties and organizations, wore badges reading “It has started” and chanted “Vucic thief” in the eighth straight weekly protest by the grouping. Previous rallies have attracted similar-sized crowds.
 
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic announced the arrest of the mayor of a Belgrade suburb on Friday in connection with an attack on a journalist that has become a cause for protesters during nearly two months of anti-government demonstrations.

January 25, 2019 - Serbia leader announces arrest of Mayor over attack on Journalist
Serbia leader announces arrest of mayor over attack on journalist | Reuters

Vucic, a former ultra-nationalist who has become an advocate of closer ties with the West, is facing weekly demonstrations from opposition groups that accuse him of increasingly authoritarian rule. More protests are planned for Saturday.

Opposition parties and their backers accuse Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of stifling media freedoms and carrying out attacks on political opponents and journalists.

Demonstrators have been angered in particular by a firebomb attack on the home of a journalist, Milan Jovanovic, in Belgrade’s suburb of Grocka last month. The attackers hurled a firebomb at a car in the garage and fired a pistol at the door as the house burned. The reporter escaped from a rear window.

Jovanovic says he was targeted over his reporting about corruption in his municipality.

In a televised address, Vucic said Grocka’s mayor, who is also an official in the SNS party, had been taken for questioning over his role in the attack on the reporter’s home.

“A party membership card will not save anyone from responsibility. Journalists will be protected no matter for whom they work for ... No one will be protected because of being a politician,” Vucic said.

He also pledged a tougher fight against politically motivated violence and cronyism, including changes in the legislature.
 
Interestingly, when I was in Serbia, I had a conversation with the driver/attendant who took me to a couple of medical tests. He was SOOO pro-America and SOOO anti-Russia, I was just mind boggled. What part of the US manipulating the break-up of Yugoslavia and the Balkan war did he not understand? And he was just LOOOVING the manipulators and the ones dropping the bombs!!!
 
Interestingly, when I was in Serbia, I had a conversation with the driver/attendant who took me to a couple of medical tests. He was SOOO pro-America and SOOO anti-Russia, I was just mind boggled. What part of the US manipulating the break-up of Yugoslavia and the Balkan war did he not understand? And he was just LOOOVING the manipulators and the ones dropping the bombs!!!

I had a work college that grew up in Kosovo Albania where they even erected a big statue of Bill Clinton "the great hero". He kept on talking about the "great deeds" of Clinton and his clique and what great things they did to the country and the region. The guy was so into the "great savior america" nonsense that it was strange to watch.
 
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