As citizens protest, Vucic announces the start of a “great unification of Serbia”, Montenegro inaugurates a new president, Dodik goes to Putin

New protests in Serbia, the third in a row under the name “Serbia against violence”, fueled by the recent mass murders in which 18 people were killed, will be joined in Belgrade on Friday by tractors of dissatisfied farmers from the heart of Šumadija.

The People’s Party (NS), one of the opposition parties behind the citizens protest “Serbia Against Violence”, says Friday’s protest in front of the Serbian Assembly will last “until all demands are met or until Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says that all requests will be fulfilled”.

“They will have to meet the demands because Serbia does not belong to them. The members of the REM (regulatory body for electronic media) council must be replaced, the national frequencies of Pink and Happy must be taken away, the print media must be banned from promoting violence and crime, and the Interior Minister Bratislav Gašić and the BIA Director Aleksandar Vulin must resign,” said Miroslav Aleksić, vice-president of the The People’s Party (NS) for television N1.

On the same day, President Aleksandar Vucic plans to launch a “great unification of Serbia”, starting in South Banat, according to the website of the municipality of Vršac.

This is one of the municipalities that Vucic will visit as part of his mini-tour of Vojvodina, ending in Pančevo, where he will address “a great gathering of the people”, which will be “the perfect prelude to the biggest unification meeting ever in Serbia, ahead of the National Assembly, on 26 May, the day before the big and important decisions for Serbia”, the announcement of this event reads.

It is important, Vucic said on Tuesday evening after the SNS presidency meeting, that on 26 May “we give people hope and show them what a normal Serbia is”. He invited everyone to come. “I assume that this will be the biggest ever meeting in Serbia,” he said.

Unofficially, the recruitment for a large gathering ” to defend the freedom and democratic values of Serbia” has largely begun.  Citizens all over Serbia are not only being blackmailed to come to Belgrade that day, they are being “kidnapped”, so to speak. The aim of Serbia’s first man, it can be learnt, is to bring 500 000 people.

Meanwhile, the regular annual May meeting of the Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), which lasts ten days and ends with the publication of a press release, usually listing the most important decisions, has begun behind closed doors. So far, the only decision known to the public is that the “Franco-German plan” on Kosovo is unacceptable to the Serbian Orthodox Church as well as to the government and most of the Serbian opposition.

During the session break on Wednesday, Vucic hosted Patriarch Porfirije and the Episcopal Assembly of the Serbian Orthodox Church for lunch. As posted on the Instagram profile budućnostsrbijeav, Vucic said that he had discussed with the Patriarch and the Bishops “all issues of fateful importance for our nation and country, as well as the problems that lie ahead of us at the international political level”, in particular regarding Kosovo”.

Until now, the Patriarchate has been an indispensable address for the President of Serbia, especially “when things are difficult”.

Although the highest legislative acts of Serbia state that the Church is separate from the State, the second message “Serbia is a secular state because the Church is completely separate from religion” circulating on social networks better illustrates the symbiosis of Serbia’s state policy. and the Church.

In Montenegro, the 17th anniversary of the restoration of Montenegrin independence will be celebrated on the same day that major opposition protests in Serbia have been announced. For the first time since 2006, the celebration of one of Montenegro’s most important national holidays will be moved two days earlier.

This was the decision of the local government in its technical mandate, which adopted at its recent meeting the “Information on the organisation of the celebration of the Independence Day of Montenegro – 19 May 2023”.

“According to the letter sent by the Prime Minister’s Office on 25 April 2023 to the capital, the Police Administration and the Directorate for Cadastre and State Property, it was decided that the celebration of 21 May – the Independence Day of Montenegro will be organized on 19 May at the Independence Square in the capital city of Podgorica, starting at 7 pm. The Government of Montenegro will organise the traditional reception of the Prime Minister again this year, this time outside the representative premises,” reads the Government’s Communication.

The previous practice was to celebrate Independence Day in town squares all over Montenegro on the same day, and receptions in Villa Gorica were organised a day or two before or on the same day.

However, given that this is not a reception, which can be earlier, but a classic celebration, it is not clear why one of the most important dates and holidays in Montenegrin history should be celebrated two days earlier.

It is estimated that the cost of the whole organisation could be 50.000 euros.

This weekend Montenegro will inaugurate its third President in a row since 2006 and the restoration of independence. Instead of being sworn in in the Montenegrin capital Cetinje, as has been the practice until now, the new President will be sworn in on Saturday 20 May at noon at the Assembly of Montenegro in Podgorica.

This decision was taken “due to the police assessment that Milatovic could be in danger in Cetinje”, the Montenegrin police said.

Since the restoration of independence, on May 21, 2006, let us remind you, the office of President of Montenegro has been held by Filip Vujanović (in two five-year mandates) and Milo Đukanović, elected in the 2018 presidential elections.

The US and UK Special Envoys for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar and Stuart Pich, have confirmed their attendance at Milatović’s inauguration and are among the hundreds of guests invited to the event.

All officials from the region, the EU and beyond, resident and non-resident ambassadors, parliamentarians, past and present presidents, international partners, presidents and vice-presidents of municipalities,… All the leaders in the region have confirmed their arrival, and Vučić is still waiting, who, apart from being a factor of peace and stability in the region for his Western allies, is often a surprise factor and likes to keep people in suspense.

Milorad Dodik, President of the Bosnian entity Republika Srpska (RS), is not expected to appear in Podgorica on Saturday, but it is worth noting that Dodik worked well with Milatović when he was the newly elected Montenegrin President was Minister in Zdravko Krivokapić’s government.

Dodik, who is preparing for an extended trip to Russia three days later (23 May), recently found himself offended by Milatović’s statement on the genocide in Srebrenica.

“Too bad, I thought anti-Serbian politics had been defeated in Montenegro. Milatovic would never have become President of Montenegro without the Serbian vote”, Dodik responded in early April, saying that Milatovic had decided to “flatter Sarajevo”.

He pointed out that the next time Serbs vote in Montenegro, they should know who and what politicians they are voting for.

And next time on 11. June, when there are extraordinary parliamentary elections in Montenegro. The offer is “diverse” – 17 electoral lists have been submitted.

Announcing his meeting with Putin, who is wanted by the International Court of Justice in The Hague for war crimes in Ukraine, Dodik said they would discuss “economic projects, but also important geopolitical issues”.

The trip to the Kremlin is expected to be an opportunity for Dodik to “consult” Putin and personally present him with the highest order of the Republika Srpska on a necklace, which the Russian President received in absentia at the beginning of the year, on 9 January, on the occasion of the celebration of the unconstitutional Republic Day of Republika Srpska. Energy projects are also a priority for Republika Srpska, he said on Wednesday in talks with Russian Ambassador to BiH Igor Kalabuhov.

Most important of all, is for “Serbs to agree,” Dodik wrote on his website dodik.net, “and a stable, secure and peaceful Serbia is only possible in the continuity of this government.”

“Serbia and all Serbs need peace, as well as common and united action”. /The Geopost/