Picula: Clusters do not open with fists

The rapporteur of the European Parliament (EP) for Serbia, Tonino Picula, condemned yesterday the attack on the leader of the opposition in Serbia, Dragan Đilas.

On the occasion of that incident, Picula assessed that "public space should not be a training ground for violence against political rivals".

"Clusters are not opened with fists", said Picula, alluding to the expectations of the authorities in Serbia that they will open cluster 3 in January in negotiations with the European Union.

Đilas, the president of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), said that he was attacked the night before yesterday, 30 minutes after midnight in Belgrade, by a group of activists of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), who were pasting posters saying "Đilas the thief".

Luka Petrović, a member of the SNS Presidency, took part in the incident, and on the video published on social networks, you can see first a scuffle and then a fight in which several people participated, Beta reported.

The video shows how Đilas approaches SNS activists who are putting up posters and asks them why they are doing it, after which an argument ensues. Đilas and SSP official Đorđe Aleksić were then hit several times by SNS activists and ended up in the Emergency Center due to multiple injuries.

Representatives of the authorities accused Đilas of attacking SNS members.

At a press conference in the Serbian Parliament, Đilas warned that the incident the night before last was "proof that Serbia has entered a situation where it is possible for human casualties to occur."

He stated that the attack on him was led by Petrović, who is also the Secretary for Investments in the City Administration of Belgrade. He stated that the attack on him is "proof that behind the violence against students, citizens and the opposition" in Serbia are the SNS and the country's president, Aleksandar Vučić.

"What happened to me happens to people all over Serbia. Everyone's life is in danger while an organized criminal group headed by Aleksandar Vučić is in power. Their behavior is a clear proof that they are aware that their end in power is coming," said the SSP leader.

He said that Luka Petrović is one of the "closest associates" of the brother of the Serbian president, Andrej Vučić, and that he is "directly responsible" for the incident.

"If it wasn't for Luka Petrović, they would have split up," said the SSP leader.

Yesterday morning, Petrović stated that the conflict occurred during the "most normal party actions" of pasting posters, claiming that Đilas struck the first blow and that one of the SNS activists suffered a concussion.

Asked if he would file a criminal complaint for the attack, Đilas said that he gave a statement to the police yesterday and that Đorđe Aleksić had done so before him, "while he could walk".

"There is a video where you can see that they are hitting us, throwing us on the hood. It is clear to everyone what happened, I came there without a bodyguard with two friends who live there", said Đilas.

He called on citizens who want a change of government to "preserve peace" and to fight for that goal "with all permitted non-violent means".

The President of the Serbian Parliament and official of the SNS, Ana Brnabić, said that the young activists of that party were victims in the conflict the night before last in Belgrade, and that Đilas, whom she called a batterer and a bully, must be held accountable for "attacking children".

She told reporters in the Serbian Parliament that she was grateful to the SSP for publishing the recording of the event, claiming that it "clearly shows who is the victim, who is the batterer, and who started it all."

"I stand in solidarity with those young people and say - 'Dilase thieves'. Now you want me to come and fight in the Serbian Parliament," said Brnabić.

She made serious insults against Tonino Picula and demanded his resignation. On the social network X, Brnabić disputed Picula's words that it was an attack on Đilas, called him "a shame for the European Parliament", "corrupt", "biased" and "politically motivated" and accused him of "grossly abusing the function of a reporter and that before he officially visited Serbia for the first time" in that capacity.

Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević accused Đilas of physically attacking SNS activists and expressed the hope that the competent authorities will do their job "because the law must apply to everyone".

"Đilas is trying to put himself in the epicenter of the protest and take the initiative away from the students. That he should be the one who dictates the pace in gatherings," Vučević told the media.

He assessed that Tonino Picula's reaction was proof that everything was staged.

Vucevic added that the activists of the ruling party were only doing what the activists of all parties in the world do and that this is part of party activism.

The vice-president of the Party of Freedom and Justice, Marinika Tepić, assessed that the attack on her party colleagues was pure fascism in action and added that the current government has formed paramilitary formations that resemble fascist phalanxes.

The Democratic Party (DS) has asked the competent authorities to prosecute Luka Petrović for, as they stated, the attack on Dragan Đilas.

In the statement of the DS, it is written that Petrović is a "hooligan and bully" and that he should resign from the position of city secretary for investments.

They assessed that the opposition should provide a more concrete and organized political response to the current situation.

The United States Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, did not want to comment on the incident, but he stressed that "people in politics" should calm down a bit.

“We have our own problems in the US, but as a general rule, I think we should all calm down a bit. I hope that such things will not be repeated," Hill said in an interview with the Fonet agency.

Šider: Vučić's regime knows no borders

Member of the European Parliament Andreas Šider said yesterday that he is deeply concerned about the "brutal attack and beating" of the Serbian opposition leader and warned that Europe must not accept the way Vučić treats his political opponents.

Šider, a member of the EP observation mission for the elections in Serbia in December 2023, stated that democracy in Serbia is "under increasing pressure" and that "it seems that the Vučić regime knows no borders."

"Serbian opposition politician Dragan Đilas was brutally attacked last night by Vučić's thugs, led by Luka Petrović, a high official of the Serbian Progressive Party in Belgrade. Đilas had to be given emergency medical help," Šider wrote, along with a link to an article in the Viennese "Standard" about the incident the night before last.

Šider, MEP of the Social Democratic Party of Austria and member of the Socialists and Democrats group in the EP, added that "the attack on Đilas represents a dangerous escalation" that "Europe cannot ignore".