Vucic Rejects Investigation & more – 9th Jan 2024

Dobar dan from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Serbia Update from the 9th of January twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Serbia.

Do you recall that the opposition accused Vucic of election fraud in the parliamentary elections and called for an investigation? Well, Vuviv rejected the opposition’s demands. He said that the elections are “an issue for state institutions”, and added that the opposition coalition Serbia Against Violence started objecting to the election results only after they indicated their definite loss. He added that both the coalition officials and the official foreign observers signed all the polling station records.

Recently, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, or SNS, declared victory in the parliamentary elections, which took place on the 17th of December twenty twenty-three. Shortly after the publishing of the results, the opposition, along with dissatisfied citizens, called for the vote to be annulled, while collectively accusing Vucic and the ruling SNS party of election fraud.

Speaking of the SNS…

Their leader, Milos Vucevic, announced that the formation of the new parliament will likely take place in February, adding that the Republic Election Commission, or RIK, first needs to release the final results of last year’s parliamentary elections. Once the RIK publishes the results, there will be a period of thirty days for the installation of a new parliament that is mandated by the Serbian law. However, since in certain municipalities the elections were re-run, due to the opposition coalition Serbia Against Violence accusing the ruling party of electoral fraud, the formation of the parliament might take more time to be completed. Vucevic added that, in consultation with President Vucic, the first political parties other than SNS who will be invited to be a part of the government are the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, the Bosniak parties and the Socialist Party of Serbia, or SPS.

On Thursday the 4th, the Serbian Intelligence Services, or BIA, kidnapped and brutally beat Nikola Sandulovic, a Serbian opposition politician, after he had laid a wreath on the grave of the late Kosovo Liberation Army leader Adem Jashari. Aleksandar Vulin, BIA’s former chief, admitted responsibility for arresting Sandulovic, saying that he was plotting to overthrow the constitutional order in Serbia. Sandulovic’s relatives and lawyers said that, upon arrest, BIA members took him in for questioning, after which they brutally beat him. Having sustained a lot of injuries, Sandulovic was put in intensive care at the VMA military hospital in Belgrade. Vulin claimed responsibility for Sandulovic’s arrest, and added that he ordered it after Sandulovic was seen apologizing for crimes Serbia committed against ethnic Albanians during the Kosovo war of independence that took place between nineteen ninety-eight and nineteen ninety-nine.

On the same day, however, Kosovo officials decided to cancel a decision that obliged drivers of vehicles with Serbian license plates to hide the Serbian emblem with a sticker, following Serbia’s decision to allow vehicles with Kosovo license plates to move freely in Serbia. Kurti, Kosovo’s PM, said that the decision to cancel the requirement of a sticker is an act of good neighborliness and that Kosovo made this decision based on the principle of reciprocity. However, Kurti warned that the Kosovo police will be monitoring the border in case of the obstruction of the free movement of Kosovo-licensed vehicles.

Despite the efforts of both Kosovo and Serbia to reduce mutual tensions, Serbian officials denied Xhelal Svecla, Kosovo’s minister of Internal Affairs, permission to visit three southern municipalities in Serbia that have a large Albanian population. Svecla labeled his denial of entrance as Serbia’s destructive approach towards Kosovo-Serbia relations, adding that his application for permission to visit southern Serbia was in line with the Brussels Agreement. In the past, Serbian officials have been denied entry to Kosovo on many occasions, since in order to visit, officials from both Kosovo and Serbia require permission from the other country’s authorities. Serbia’s National Council of Albanians invited Svecla to visit three southern municipalities in Serbia. He was supposed to meet several MPs and visit the Council offices in the Presevo Valley.

But let’s go back to the parliamentary elections for a minute…

Serbia has awarded T&M Group Solutions, a Bosnian company, state business deals, despite the company’s allegations of bussing people from Bosnia to Serbia in order to vote illegally. The government awarded a consortium of companies, which T&M Group Solutions was part of, around 200 million dollars. The consortium also includes the Dobergard security company, which provides security guards for the Anti-Corruption Agency, and is alleged to have close ties with the ruling SNS party.

During last year’s parliamentary elections, the election observers reported seeing foreigners from Bosnia being bussed to Belgrade to vote illegally. This bussing was one of the 450 electoral violations.

Speaking of funds…

The Fiscal Council published an assessment of the twenty twenty-four budget, which shows that the interest rates of the public debt will be significantly higher than the interest rates of the old debt, which alludes to significantly worse borrowing conditions and the necessary caution of the state. Sinisa Mali, the minister of Finance, said that the projections for the twenty twenty-four budget were encouraging and that Serbia kept its public debt under control. However, the Law on the twenty twenty-four State Budget, which the parliament recently adopted, foresees a public debt of around fifty percent of the GDP, which is less than the twenty twenty-three projection. With that, Serbia will most likely have to borrow around seven billion dollars this year.

In some environmental news…

On Friday the 5th, Serbian authorities reported that a cargo vessel loaded with fertilizer sank in the Danube River after hitting a bridge at the Serbia-Croatia border. Serbia’s Environment Ministry said that the vessel was carrying around 1,000 tons of nitrogen fertilizer and warned that its sinking may cause serious environmental damage. Dusan Blagojevic, an environmental expert, said that the spilling of the fertilizer will indeed have a negative impact on the river flora and fauna, which he said will also extend to humans. However, Serbia’s Environment Ministry noted that the Environmental Protection Agency is closely monitoring the situation.

On that note about the Environmental Protection Agency…

They measured the period of time during which the limits of the allowed levels of the harmful PM10 particles in the air were crossed. PM10 particles are small in size and can reach the narrow bronchioles or alveoli in the lungs where they do the most damage. The results showed that the city of Popovac had 137 days in twenty twenty-three with more than fifty micrograms of PM10 particles per cubic meter. Other cities that had pollution over the allowed limit for the longest in twenty twenty-three were Novi Pazar and Valjevo, both with 118 days. Long exposure to PM10 particles can result in shortness of breath, and nose, eye or throat irritation, reduced lung function, and in the more extreme cases, even death. PM10 particles are especially dangerous for children and the elderly, as well as for those who suffer from respiratory diseases, like asthma.

While on the topic of health…

The Serbian Public Health Institute declared a whooping cough epidemic in Belgrade, adding that they have confirmed around a thousand cases in December twenty twenty-three. Most cases were recorded in Belgrade, but the institute said that the southern areas of the Vojvodina province in Serbia are also affected.

Aaand that's it for this week!

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