Analysts: Protests in Serbia, reaction to the weakening of democracy

2023-12-28 20:10:06, Kosova & Bota CNA

After the publication of the first results of the general elections in Serbia on December 17, opposition supporters began protests against irregularities that, according to international observers, gave an advantage to the Serbian Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vucic. Protests in Belgrade have escalated and the opposition has called for a nationwide protest this weekend. Serbian activists and experts in the region say that they are the result of dissatisfaction with the policies followed that give priority to stability and not democracy.

The streets of Belgrade are once again filled with protesters. Supporters of the opposition "Serbia Against Violence" are opposing a host of irregularities identified by local and international observers in the general and local elections, including those for the Belgrade municipality.

The protests, which usually start in the evening hours, escalated last weekend when a group of participants tried to force their way into the Belgrade City Hall building. In an attempt to stop them, the police used tear gas and clashed with them.

Opposition parties and civil society organizations, which are contesting the election results and the 47 percent victory of President Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party, have called for a popular protest for Saturday.

In an interview for the Voice of America, the director of the organization European Fund for the Balkans, Aleksandra Tomanic, says that the protests in Serbia are taking place under the shadow of a deep political crisis that preceded the early elections.

"What we see are citizens ready to defend their vote, citizens who do not accept election manipulation and who do not want to sit idly by. What we saw on election day was very clear manipulation, although it was not the first time," she says. "The new dimension in these elections was that the whole thing became very open... Another innovation was that finally international election observers report what they saw. Now we have reports from the OSCE, from members of the European Parliament. They are documented, written and can now be investigated."

According to former American diplomat Jennifer Brush, who has served in high diplomatic posts in Serbia and Kosovo, including as director of the Office for the Balkans at the US State Department in 2012-2014, the situation in Serbia is disappointing, but not surprising. .

"Unfortunately, I see stagnation and I don't see any change. There was hope that by this stage of Serbia's purported bid to join the EU, we would have witnessed greater progress by the Serbian government to make the country more attractive to the European Union. But instead, it is playing the game by trying to make itself attractive to both the EU and Russia and something like that just doesn't work... After what is happening in Ukraine and the fact that Russia is behind a lot of things, including Kosovo, you can't have both. Vucic has to choose and it seems that he has made his choice because it is not making Serbia more enviable for the EU anyway and it is unfortunate,” says Ms. Brush.

According to the director of the European Fund for the Balkans, irregularities in the electoral process were also documented in the past, but they were ignored, while now they have aroused international reactions. Although according to Ms. Tomani?, not all messages from the international community have been clear:

"The State Department has also requested that the institutions investigate what happened. But, at the same time, we see that the American ambassador in Serbia is still very friendly and considers both parties equally responsible. So we're still seeing mixed messages. The institutions here are not reacting while the President of the Republic is evaluating the elections as the fairest and best ever held. So, Serbia is in a deep crisis, to which there is no end in sight at the moment," says Tomani?.

Ms. Tomani? says that the fact that some Serbian MPs are on hunger strike to draw the attention of international institutions to the developments in Serbia shows how serious the situation is.

"This shows the level of desperation we have fallen to, prioritizing stability over democracy for decades, because you cannot have stability without democracy," she added.

At the end of the election process, the international observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who observed the December 17 elections, assessed that the pressure on voters, in addition to the role of the President and the priorities of the ruling party, undermined the election process and "created a field of unequal to the race.”

President Vu?i? rejected the opposition's claims of manipulation of the election result and accused the protesters of trying to overthrow his government with the help of foreign players.

"From time to time it seems to me that not only our political opponents, but also their teachers from abroad, think that everyone in this country is an idiot and that nobody has eyes, ears and that nobody understands what happened (on Sunday) . Everyone saw that for almost three hours the policemen and the property of the citizens of Serbia were brutally attacked by those who are determined to destroy democracy in Serbia and the electoral will of our people," stated Mr. Vucic.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabi? has thanked Russia for the information, as she stated, on the violent protests against the election results. Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to Serbia, according to news agencies, after the meeting with Mr. Vucic told the Russian media that the president of Serbia has "undeniable evidence" that the West is inciting the opposition protests in Belgrade.

For former US diplomat Brush, who served as deputy US ambassador in Belgrade but no longer speaks for the US government, these claims are part of a now-familiar scenario spread by Russia across the former Soviet Union and tactics that are now being used in Serbia.

"Hearing these baseless accusations over and over again from a Serbian leader being advised to say this by a Russian ambassador speaks volumes about the basis of these allegations and it happens over and over again. Are the Americans and the EU the external influence behind these demonstrations? I think it's a very poor excuse by the government of Serbia not to acknowledge that their own people, for their own reasons, are very disillusioned and just scared about the direction their country is taking," says Ms. Brush.

According to Mrs. Tomani?, the protests will continue because in the squares of Belgrade they are fighting for basic rights and democracy.

"Surrender is not an option, this is still a battle, that if it is not won, then why would we need another election?," she says.

Ms. Brush says the success of the Balkans depends on a functioning Serbia and that Serbia now needs leaders who protect its interests.

"Serbia needs someone who protects Serbia and who does not allow Serbia to become a tool of Russia. It is quite easy for Russia to create chaos in the Balkans. It does not have to spend political, diplomatic or economic resources. They don't have to spend anything to create chaos in the Balkans because Serbia is doing their job," she says.

According to her, this is not a role that Serbs living in Serbia want their country to play./ REL