
The regime of Aleksandar Vučić in Serbia developed a monstrous corrupt octopus that swallowed the whole country, and one of the ways of controlling citizens is that narrative about Kosovo and the defense of Kosovo, which is actually just a cover for organised theft and corruption, says Aleksandar Olenik in an interview with Geopost, a lawyer and member of the presidency of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV).
He points out that the Serbian List is politically useless after the events in Banjska.
“But Vucic has no other operator in Kosovo besides the Serbian Orthodox Church, and they are trying to revive the Serbian List for the elections in Kosovo because they are forced to do so.”
Olenik stresses that now is the time for the Serbs of Kosovo to “separate politically from Belgrade, to form one or more parties that will represent the interests of the Serbs of Kosovo and not the interests of the corrupt regime of Aleksandar Vučić”.
With regard to the current mass protests in Serbia, our interlocutor points out that the process of disempowering of Vucic is under way, namely the taking away of the power he has been given in contravention of the Constitution and the law.
“With each passing day, the pressure on Vucic and his regime is increasing, and with each passing day, his ability to defend himself against this pressure is diminishing”, Olenik assessed, adding that there are two possible outcomes.
FULL INTERVIEW
The Geopost: The Government of Serbia recently adopted a decision adopting the Programme for the Allocation and Use of Financial Resources to Assist Returnees and Vulnerable Households on the Territory of Kosovo for the Year 2025. Vucic hinted at these measures as early as September last year, announcing that “Kosovo will be declared an area of special social protection”. How to interpret this?
Olenik: Unfortunately, Kosovo is the issue where most of the abuses have taken place, not only politically but also financially, by the government of Vojislav Koštunica and the abolition of VAT, which has led to massive smuggling of goods and millions circulating in the north and entering private pockets.
What the regime of Aleksandar Vucic is doing is ruthlessly cutting from the budget and pouring into private pockets, and any such act that looks like helping the citizens, whether in Kosovo or in Serbia, is corruption anyway. Because the regime of Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia has developed a monstrous corrupt octopus that has swallowed up the whole country and is controlling the country, and one of the ways in which it is controlling the citizens is through this narrative of Kosovo and the defence of Kosovo, which is actually just a cover for organised theft and corruption, and that is the same as in this project.
The Geopost: Parliamentary elections are coming up in Kosovo. The Serbian List recently posted a pre-election video on social media with the message that “the Serbian people will win the elections”. How do you view this video in the light of the expectation that Belgrade will impeach Milan Radojicic, one of the hallmarks of the Serbian List, despite his resignation as vice-president?
Olenik: After the events in Banjska, which are certainly diplomatically linked to official Belgrade, the Serbian List is politically useless. But Aleksandar Vucic has no other operator in Kosovo than the Serbian Orthodox Church, and they are trying to revive the Serbian List for the elections in Kosovo because they are forced to do so. I think that it is now time for the Serbs of Kosovo, both north and south of the Ibar River, to separate themselves politically from Belgrade and to follow the example of the Serbs in Croatia and to form one or more parties that will represent the interests of the Serbs in Kosovo, not the interests of the regime in Belgrade. Certainly not the interests of the corrupt regime of Aleksandar Vučić.
The Geopost: In your opinion, is it possible to expect new incidents in Kosovo, given that Vucic is under intense pressure at home because of the growing mass protests?
Olenik: After the Banjska episode, I think it is no longer realistic to expect provoking conflict in Kosovo. Aleksandar Vucic tried that, we all know how that went, and I don’t think Vucic has the capacity to do that, and I think he is aware that he would only be harming himself and the part of the government that he has retained. So he is raising a new issue, which is absolutely incredible, he has invented separatism in Vojvodina, which does not exist, everybody is laughing at him, but this propaganda and this narrative is going on. I think that if he tries to cause problem in the region in order to maintain his power in Serbia, then, unfortunately, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the most endangered.
The Geopost: How do you view the current protests in Serbia and what do you see as the final outcome? The students have made it clear that the resignation of Prime Minister Vucevic is not enough for them, they have clear demands that have not yet been met.
Olenik: In Serbia, a process is currently underway to disempower Vucic, to take away the power he has acquired in violation of the constitution and the law. The students and their resistance are playing a decisive role, because they have aroused, moved and mobilised the majority of the public, including those who have so far supported Vucic in one way or another. There are two outcomes – either Vucic will give in and allow a peaceful transition of power by forming some kind of technical, transitional government, which is merely to hold the first free and fair elections in 12 years. Or he will not do so, and then his illegitimate system, or his corrupt octopus, will burst. With every day that passes, the pressure on him and on his regime increases, and with every day that passes, his ability to defend himself against that pressure diminishes. It is only a matter of time before it bursts, and it will not be pretty, given 5 October 2000. So, in principle, it is up to Vucic to step down as soon as possible and meet the demands of the students, and then allow the interim government to organise fair elections. That will be better for everyone, including him, and, on the contrary, the persistent maintenance of power through propaganda and violence will at some point lead to conflict. But, unfortunately, at the moment, our opposition party is not yet asked enough which of these two options will be, but at the moment it is all up to him.
The Geopost: Let’s imagine a hypothetical situation – that the SNS, SRS, SPS, etc. deleted from the list of political parties, to shut down RTS or at least fundamentally changed, and that a transitional government then adopts the imposed constitution and calls fair and democratic elections. Which of these is possible and realistic?
Olenik: We do not need to change the constitution at this point in time, nor is it possible at this point in time to ban these parties that you have listed. The most realistic option, as I have already said, is the formation of a transitional, technical government whose sole task or mandate will be to prepare and conduct fair and democratic elections. Something that we have in North Macedonia, as a rule, as a law. Only then, after these elections, which will be the first fair, free and democratic ones, can we talk about lustration, bans, criminal proceedings and everything else. The alternative to this is conflict, and someone has already said that we have been living in a cold civil war in Serbia for 12 years. I think that this definition is correct, but that the cold civil war is slowly heating up and that we have little, but we do have conflict in the streets, so we have attacks on students by the Serbian Progressive Party. It is therefore possible that this cold civil war will soon take other shapes.
/The Geopost