Sixth Serbia against Violence Protest & more – 13th June 2023

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 13th June twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

The sixth Serbia against violence protest took place on Friday the 9th, gathering thousands of people in front of the government building in Belgrade. The opposition-led protest aims to ban the broadcasting of violent content in the media, but it is also focused on the public's dissatisfaction over president Vucic’s regime. The protesters also called on president Vucic to resign. The catalyst for Serbia against violence protests was the school shooting that happened in May which claimed the lives of seventeen people.

Friday’s protest’s theme was education, which is why certain professors addressed the public before the march began. The protesters demanded that the government shut down the print media and tabloid newspapers promoting hatred and violence and breaching journalistic ethics. They are also calling for the removal or resignation of Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic and, Aleksandar Vulin, the head of the Security Intelligence Agency who protesters say are corrupt.

Amid the ongoing protests, Serbian PM Ana Brnabic said she was open to the idea of resignation. She said that the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, which she is a part of, is ready to meet with the opposition and discuss their concerns. However, she said that if they refuse to talk, she will resign. The opposition accepted her invitation for discussion on the condition that the government fulfills all the demands presented during the Serbia Against Violence protests. Brnabic also said that she favors early parliamentary elections, but added that Vucic will decide whether to hold them or not.

After Brnabic’s statements, Vucic promised an early parliamentary election. In an attempt to calm the public during the protests which target his regime, he said that the voting will happen by the end of the year. However, most opposition parties have rejected his proposal because the opposition says Vucic’s regime allows him to have complete control of the mainstream media, which he can use to spread propaganda. The opposition has accused Vucic of fueling aggression during his rule, as well as of illegally seizing control of all state institutions. Vucic has denied all this and said that the opposition wants to forcefully remove him from power.

In other news…

Kosovo’s PM Albin Kurti complained that the US and the EU have bias against Kosovo, while tolerating Serbia’s regime, which he labeled as authoritarian. He said that both the EU and the US have sent Kosovo Serbia’s demands and conditions that Kosovo must fulfill. This statement came after the recent clashes between Serbs from northern Kosovo and its police, after which dozens of people got injured, including NATO soldiers who tried to maintain peace. After that, Brussels requested that Kosovo withdraw its special police forces from the predominantly Serb-populated north. Kurti insisted on arresting or deporting Serbs protesters before downsizing its police force. He also said that the West should not indulge Belgrade since Serbia is, as he put it, the root of all the violence in the Western Balkans. Regarding the bias he accused the West of, he complained about how they urged Kosovo to make electoral amendments without pressuring the only ethnic Serbian party Serbian List to take part in the vote.

On the other hand, the West is discussing measures if Kosovo does not fulfill the requirements the EU has sent them. Miroslav Lajcak, EU's special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, and Gabriel Escobar, the American emissary for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, went to Pristina to meet with Kurti. Brussels’ diplomatic sources, however, say that the talks were difficult since Kurti refused some of the requests. An EU foreign affairs spokesman said that the EU and the US will discuss potential measures only if Serbia and Kosovo do not undertake immediate steps to de-escalate.

In the new European Commission document, which is an annual report dealing with Serbia's progress in the field of the rule of law, Brussels reported that Serbia must work harder in order to make significant changes in key areas such as justice, to progress in the EU membership negotiation process. The EU said that they will set no further goals for Serbia’s accession until it works on the points mentioned in the document. These include further work on the fight against corruption and organized crime, media freedom and dealing with war crimes, among others.

Speaking of improvement…

The Serbian government has adopted the Strategy of Low Carbon Development, whose goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by thirteen percent by the end of twenty-thirty. In order to meet the set goal, the executive plans on cutting emissions in the production of electricity and heat, increasing energy efficiency and using renewable energy sources in the industrial sector. The adopted strategy indicates that the dependence on fossil fuels can threaten Serbia’s economic competitiveness long term. The strategy envisions that by twenty fifty, Serbia will be a low-carbon society with a competitive and resource-efficient economy.

The government has also adopted a wind and solar power auction plan, which envisions three rounds of auctions for wind and solar power facilities in the next two years. The main goal of the plan is to enhance investments into the field of renewable energy sources. The Ministry of Mining and Energy intends to carry out the first two auctions by the end of June. They added that the first two auctions will have a simple form, which means that they will award incentives based on the financial offer. They also said that they will add more criteria later on. Since solar energy has an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change, more projects regarding its enhanced use are important to Serbia.

On that note about the climate…

Last week, major floods and heavy rain hit Serbia, seriously affecting rail and road traffic. The head of the Internal Affairs Ministry Emergency Situations Sector said that around twenty-five cities have declared emergency situations. The Emergency Situation Sector had to evacuate people in several cities of western Serbia, however, they reported that the town of Cacak was in the worst state. In some cities, local rivers have spilled over their banks which made several roads inaccessible. The officials have also stopped the rail traffic between Belgrade and Nis, since the spilled rivers damaged the foundations of the railway bridge.

In sports news…

On Sunday the 11th, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic officially became the best tennis player in the sport’s history. In the final game of the Roland Garros tournament, a major tennis tournament held in Paris, Djokovic defeated his opponent and won the 23rd Grand Slam title in his career. Before this, he was sharing the number one spot on the the Pepperstone ATP rankings list, which ranks players by their qualification to enter tournaments, with Rafael Nadal. However, after this win, he became the first player in history to have won at least three trophies in all four Grand Slam competitions.

On Tuesday the 6th, Serbia granted Gold Medals of Merit to nine members of a Chinese medical team who contributed to prevention and control of the COVID 19 pandemic in Serbia. The ceremony also commemorated the good relations between the two countries. The laureates received the Gold Medal of Merit and Order of the Serbian Flag of the 1st class, which are the highest state decorations. The Serbian Ambassador to China said that China was the first country to provide medical assistance to Serbia, which helped Serbian staff effectively combat the pandemic.

Speaking of COVID…

About 580 COVID-19 cases were confirmed and two people have died this week. Compared to last week, the number of confirmed cases has decreased by almost 400.

And that's it for this week. Another quick question. How are we doing on bias? Ax grinding? We try to be independent and stick to the facts and context with favor and fear of none. How are we doing? So do we seem even a teensy bit biased? Tell us at serbia@rorshok.com

Do daljnjeg, zbogom!