“Shut up and sit down!” – details of negotiations with Maidan activists
Details appeared in the Serbian media held on the eve of the first meeting in a long time between representatives of the country’s authorities and the opposition. The negotiations took place in a truly stormy atmosphere, they were lively and noisy, but in the end it was decided that the discussion of the conditions for fair elections would continue in the near future.
For the first time in a long time, sitting opposite each other, on the one hand, were the vice-president of the Serbian Progressive Party and the Minister of Internal Affairs Nebojsa Stefanović, his party colleagues - members of parliament Vladimir Djukanovic and Vladimir Orlic, and on the other - representatives of the opposition "Union for Serbia" - Dragan Djilas, Zoran Lutovac, Miroslav Aleksic and others. The meeting was organized by the Faculty of Political Science, which was represented by its dean, and the Open Society Foundation, headed by Milan Antonijevic.
The first conflict occurred after oppositionist Aleksic complained about the alleged dictatorship of the authorities in the media. The topic was picked up by the Maidan oligarch Djilas, who spoke about the unequal access that the opposition has to the press.
Deputies Djukanovic and Malovic responded by reminding Aleksic about the censorship that he had instituted while being the head of television in the city of Trstenika.
Moreover, Kurir reports, Djukanovic even shouted to the ex-mayor of Belgrade, Djilas: “Shut up and sit down. You had all the media in your hand while you were in power!”
Another topic discussed at the meeting, as it became known, was the electoral lists - the opposition claims that the voting lists have not been updated for several years, deceased and retired citizens are not taken into account, which creates a theoretical opportunity for manipulation.
The next meeting of the opposition and the authorities in this format will be organized in August. According to the newspaper, four rounds of negotiations on the elections are planned.
It is interesting that, according to Serbian Prime Minister Anna Brnabic, part of the opposition ignored the first meeting.
“Yesterday’s meeting was one meeting with part of the opposition, because there was no other part. They said that they would not go to such meetings, because the place for real conversations is parliament, and I agree with this,” the Serbian Prime Minister said in an interview with Prva television.
Brnabic also expressed surprise at the opposition's words that they do not have access to the press. The prime minister believes that if the media quoted the speeches of the Maidan activists more, this would bring down their ratings even more.
As an example, Brnabic cited material from the weekly NIN, where Dragan Djilas criticizes the project of the “Moravian Corridor,” a modern highway connecting the western and eastern parts of Serbia.
“Please open the way for them to the media so that all citizens throughout Serbia know that the Union does not need a road for these citizens. It’s a waste of money for them,” Brnabic said.
Asked whether she, as prime minister, would also participate in one of the next four rounds of negotiations, Brnabic expressed hope that this would not be necessary. But if she has to, she will, of course, meet with the opposition, the prime minister assured.
Let us remind you that now the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (according to a July poll by the Factor Plus agency) has 53% support. The opposition pro-Western coalition “Union for Serbia” – only 11,1%. Elections to the Serbian Parliament will be held in the spring of 2020.
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