Radoicic Takes Resposibility for Shootout & more–3rd Oct 2023

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 3rd of October twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

On Friday the 29th, Milan Radoicic, deputy head of Kosovo Serb political party Serbian List, took responsibility for the shootout that happened two weeks ago between Serb gunmen and Kosovo police. Recall that the shootout, which left one police officer dead and another one injured, took place in Banjska, Kosovo, where around thirty armed Serbian men opened fire on Kosovo police. Radoicic said that he planned the operation himself, adding that neither Serbian authorities nor his party had anything to do with it. He then resigned from his position of vice-president of Serbian List.

Radoicic called his plan a “defense operation against the Kosovo authorities”, saying they were occupiers. He did not specify what led to the shooting or how the armed men acquired the arsenal of expensive weaponry and vehicles. Currently, Radoicic is wanted in Kosovo in connection with a corruption case and is one of the prime suspects in the murder case of Oliver Ivanovic, a Kosovo Serb politician. In twenty twenty-one the US blacklisted Radoicic for alleged involvement in organized crime.

While on the topic of the Kosovo clashes…

On Wednesday the 27th, Kosovo police released four out of eight Kosovo Serbs they had previously arrested over the killing of a Kosovan police officer. Prosecutors said that they were released because there wasn’t evidence that demonstrated that these men were linked to the other gunmen. However, Kosovo police said that they will continue to look for evidence that links Serbian authorities to the Serb gunmen. They searched the area around the monastery where the gunmen hid after the shooting, and they reported that they had found plenty of “unexploded devices”. Kosovo’s north police deputy director said their goal is to free Kosovo from organized groups, adding that such a process might include casualties.

Moreover, on Monday the 2nd, top Serbian military officials announced that the Serbian army has almost halved the number of troops stationed on the border with Kosovo, after many countries and organizations, such as the EU and NATO, raised violence concerns. After the shootout in Banjska, the West urged Serbia to reduce its military presence in Kosovo, and bring about peace. At a press conference General Milan Mojsilovic, the Serbian Army Chief of Staff, said that the army had reduced the number of soldiers on the border from around eight thousand to around four thousand five hundred. He said that the Serbian military did not raise its combat readiness, adding that they did not have any intentions to use force against Kosovo.

The US has since welcomed the country’s decision to lower the number of soldiers. Still, a State Department spokesman said that the US is very concerned about the ongoing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.

Some parties are siding with Serbia in this situation.

Unsurprisingly, Russia supports the country. Its Foreign Ministry, government spokesperson, and the Russian ambassador to Belgrade all sided with Serbia after the European Commission labeled the shootout as a terrorist attack. Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a statement against Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti, where they accused him of the constant provoking of violence in the north of Kosovo, adding that he is trying to cleanse Kosovo of Serbs. In the statement, they also said that Kosovo’s government is in favor of conflict, creating a political scenario that would put international pressure on Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Contrary to Russia, Albania has condemned Serbia for the violence in Kosovo and has gone on to criticize Miroslav Lajcak, EU Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, and Josep Borrell, EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. Edi Rama, Albanian PM, addressed Lajcak and Borrell and said that the current format of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, which Brussels facilitates, is not working in reducing tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. He suggested that Brussels hold a conference with the presidents of France, Germany, Kosovo, and Serbia in order to discuss the EU-backed Franco-German plan, which aims to bring peace between Kosovo and Serbia. Rama also requested the EU to punish those who murdered the Kosovo police officer in the shootout, as well as to condemn Serbian officials for honoring the gunmen whom Kosovo police shot dead.

On Wednesday the 27th, Rama announced that Albania would be deviating away from its alignment with the EU policy. He explained that Albania does not align with an EU statement that called for more dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia after the shooting in Banjska. Rama said that he is waiting for the EU to put out a statement in which they condemn Serbia, adding that only then will Albania go back to aligning itself with EU policy.

In other news…

President Vucic announced on Thursday the 28th that the country will be ready to hold snap general elections as early as the 17th of December. While guesting on a morning show on Radio Television of Serbia, or RTS, he said that the decision was in response to the opposition, who had previously demanded urgent snap elections. Despite some of the government officials against the president’s move, Vucic said that out of respect towards the opposition parties, he decided to schedule the elections as soon as possible. He added that the parliamentary, provincial, and Belgrade elections will be held at the same time.

The 22nd Serbia Against Violence protest was held on Saturday the 30th in Belgrade. Thousands of participants gathered at the plateau in front of the Parliament building and then marched to the RTS headquarters. Those who spoke at the protest called on the citizens to continue to show up to the protests, especially since the recent shooting in Banjska and the newly announced general snap elections.

The co-president of the Together party, which is a progressive opposition party, pointed out that citizens should not expect transparency and honesty from RTS during the election campaign, referring to RTS’s reputation of being biased towards the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. Radomir Lazovic, MP of the Green-Left Front, called on citizens to continue protesting against the government which he accused of crimes, such as supporting a drug trafficking network and illegal arms shipments, and corruption. The protest ended in front of the Presidency building.

In some health-related news…

Last week, the Institute for Public Health confirmed around three thousand eight hundred COVID-19 cases, with zero deaths. Compared to last week, the number of confirmed cases has increased by around a thousand.

On a more positive note…

On Friday the 29th, the country opened its first industrial biological wastewater treatment plant in Belgrade. Attending the opening of the facility was PM Ana Brnabic, who gave a speech in which she emphasized the importance of environmental protection. Brnabic pointed out that this facility, which is worth five million dollars, will purify the water from the Danube River used for industrial purposes and return it back to the river in a cleaner state. She also stated that all businesses in Serbia that produce wastewater from technological production processes must build facilities for its purification.

The twelfth edition of the Goethe film festival will take place in October in three Serbian cities. The Goethe-Institut organized the festival, which will feature seven contemporary German films. These movies focus on analyzing the current phenomena in modern society, like misogyny, drugs available to kids, and many others.

In Belgrade, the festival will take place from the 12th to the 15th of October at the Cultural Center of Belgrade. In Novi Sad, it will be held at the Cultural Center of Novi Sad from the 19th to the 22nd, and Nis will hold the Goethe film festival in Hall 5 of the Cineplexx cinema from the 26th to the 29th. Wanna know more? Follow the link to the festival’s website in the show notes!

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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