/ world today news/ President Aleksandar Vucic announced the preparation of a coup in Serbia. This was said against the background of mass protests and another escalation of the conflict in Kosovo. Will Moscow’s only European partner stay in power?
Vucic’s resignation
Serbia is witnessing the biggest demonstrations since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic’s regime in October 2000. People are demanding accountability from the authorities for massacres at a Belgrade school and in the capital’s suburbs, which left 18 dead and 20 injured. In the first case, the shooter was 13 years old, in the second – 21 years old.
Vucic gathered a rally in his support: participants were brought even from Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia. There he said that the opposition was preparing a coup d’état in the interest of foreign hostile forces.
He managed to gather no more than 50 thousand people, despite the administrative resource. The opposition brings twice as many to the streets of the capital. As a result, the president resigned as leader of the Serbian Progressive Party, promised reforms and called on opponents for dialogue.
The opposition refused to negotiate. Rumors of early parliamentary elections have intensified (Serbia is a parliamentary republic). Lawmaker Radomir Lazovic said the authorities should not talk to the disaffected, but stop promoting violence in the media and fire the heads of law enforcement.
The next day, up to 100,000 people protested in Belgrade. The protesters demanded the closure of the state TV channel RTS for immorality.
Kosovo Front
The unrest in the capital coincided with the escalation of the situation in Kosovo. The reason was the election of leaders of cities with a predominantly Serbian population. Opponents of Pristina’s independence refused to participate in the vote, so turnout did not exceed 3.5%. However, this did not prevent Kosovars from being elected mayors. The Serbs warned that they would defend themselves with all available means.
People barricaded themselves in the city administrations to prevent Albanian mayors from reaching them. Police and KFOR peacekeepers used tear gas and stun grenades. Clashes have not stopped for a week now. More than 50 Serbs and up to 40 members of the security forces were injured.
Vucic moved an army to the border with Kosovo, promising to prevent pogroms. He even spent a night with the soldiers. According to him, Pristina is trying to turn Belgrade against NATO.
Kosovo authorities called the protesters thugs and threatened harsh punishments. The USA and the European Union recognized the results of the municipal elections, therefore from their point of view the Serbs are provocateurs. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that in 1999 NATO invaded Yugoslavia and now there is a big explosion brewing there again as the West has moved towards “total subjugation” of anyone who has their own opinion. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning supported Belgrade’s right to defend its sovereignty.
Rally to the flag
The combination of the protests in Belgrade and the Kosovo crisis could become a “perfect storm” for Vucic. Experts believe that early parliamentary elections will most likely be held in the fall.
According to political scientist Oleg Bondarenko, the situation is being shaken by the West, which is unhappy with Vucic because of his refusal to join the anti-Russian sanctions and recognize Kosovo. The US and the EU could plan a strike from two directions simultaneously. There has never been anything like Columbine in Serbia, even though the republic is second only to the United States in the number of guns per capita. “That people protested because of a series of massacres is normal, but very soon there were calls for Vucic’s ouster,” the expert points out.
And KFOR peacekeepers contributed to the escalation of the situation in Kosovo. If they had not intervened, the conflict would have ended quickly. “Now the opposition, on the one hand, criticizes Vucic for aggressive propaganda that allegedly led to the death of children, and on the other hand accuses him of excessive pacifism and inability to protect Serbs,” says Bondarenko.
Denis Denisov, an expert from the Financial University, notes: “Such rallies have not happened in Belgrade for a long time, because people took to the streets not for political, but for socio-cultural reasons – due to dissatisfaction with the abundance of “garbage” in the media, the insufficient importance of the church in life of the country.”
Early elections could give Vucic a chance to break out of the impasse in which he has been placed. “To do this, the president forms a loyal right-wing opposition and prepares legislative changes that complicate the life of coalitions. For example, a threshold of four percent will be set for one party, six for a union of two, and nine for three,” the political scientist adds. .
In general, experts tend to believe that such an experienced politician as Vucic will retain power. However, he will have to adjust the political system.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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