Vucevic: A strong boycott of the Serbian community is a response to the occupation in Kosovo and Metohija

The Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of Serbia, Milos Vucevic, said on the occasion of the elections in four municipalities in the north of Kosovo that they had been "container elections and a farce of democracy" and that it was good that the Serbs from Kosovo had shown unity and boycotted the voting, Pink reports.

"Everything the President said is correct. It's incredible how there are these different standards, when 50 percent of the citizens vote in Serbia, then it's not a democratic enough election, and in Kosovo when three percent come out, then it's a super democratic election and they congratulate the Albanians. What can make us proud, in the midst of bad circumstances, is that the Serbs have never been more united, that 99.97 percent of the Serbs did not vote, that only 13 people voted, that you have places where no one took part, they had zero voters. That's two to three percent of those who were forced," Vucevic said.

The Minister of Defense also asked if these were European values.

"Did they really expect the Serbs to participate? Who would they vote for, Kurti's or Thaci's party," Vucevic asked.

According to him, Pristina worked for 10 years to cancel the Brussels Agreement, and Serbia was responsible.

"They are doing everything to expel the Serbs, practically since 1999, since the kidnappings, the 'Yellow House', since the pogrom in 2004. Not only is this happening, but the inaction of the international community and this loud silence, and hypocritical explanations of what is happening are even worse. When they try to kill two Serbian boys, you say on Twitter that you regret the shooting in Kosovo. No one shot in the air and celebrated, but someone shot to kill the Serbs. And that someone is an Albanian, a member of the Kosovo Security Forces. He came out of prison after a month to fight for his freedom. Kurti is in a world of his own, living his own movie, but the people from the Quint countries who tell us about human rights..." Vucevic pointed out.

He emphasized that everything in yesterday's elections had been irregular and that there had been more people with rifles than voters. He particularly highlighted the fact that fewer Albanians had voted now than in 2021.

"And they increased the number of voters compared to the last election. Serbia is a co-signatory of the Brussels Agreement. How do you think that Serbia does not interfere with Kosovo and Metohija? Well of course it interferes, it interferes with the implementation. The message of the Serbian community is that they do not want to live in an independent Kosovo. They don't care about their pain, they don't see their pain," Vucevic said.

According to him, it is a miracle that the Serbs have endured so much in the Kosovo institutions in the previous 10 years.

"It is important that Serbia remains at the negotiating table so that we are not assigned the role that they have often assigned to us. That it be rational. The status of the CSM was clearly defined in 2015 and has 22 principles. If you are going to create the CSM in accordance with your constitution, you know what you are not in accordance with our constitution. I am not an optimist. A strong boycott of the Serbian community is a boycott of the occupation of Kosovo and Metohija. When we will be freed, there is no occupation that we have not freed ourselves from. The EU lied to us all about the CSM. What was signed has not been implemented. We are ready to talk about the concept, we know where the red lines are, the Serbs will not return to your institutions until the CSM is implemented," Vucevic concluded.

The Serbian Minister of Defense also assessed that the Serbian Army exercise held in Batajnica on Saturday had been successful and had shown a strong and well-equipped army.

"Today you see a more modern, better-equipped army, not to go to war but to keep the peace. What we showed on Saturday as part of the Army Day celebration, by order of the President of the Republic, is the message that the state of Serbia has the ability to keep its freedom, peace, and independence and that it is the best warning to all who are not friendly. It is not easy to hear the President of the Republic say that he is satisfied, expectations are always higher. This is an incentive and I congratulated the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense. This is the result multi-year investment. The part of the equipment that was in front of the stage, none of that was there 10 years ago. The whole part with 'Lazars', 'Milos', with mistrals, not to mention drones, we didn't have that," Vucevic said.

He added that he hoped that the Serbian Army would continue to progress with the number of soldiers.

"We saw ten MiG-29s in sorties, 10 'eagles' flew, and we flew over 60 aircraft. The most beautiful picture is of 50,000 citizens who entered through the gates of the airport in Batajnica. I am very proud of the officers and non-commissioned officers who were willing to let the children get into combat vehicles and experience driving. It is good that these children grow up in an atmosphere to love their army because they know that it protects them, their homes, and their parents. And I am sure that one of them will be an officer. This is the story of all of us, of the whole society," Vucevic pointed out.

He added that he believed that the reinforcement would continue in terms of the number of soldiers and that this was the biggest challenge.

"I believe that this whole project of 5,000 is a good indication of the direction we will move. The Hungarian Minister of Defense, who came with the Prime Minister, told me that he had never seen such an 'arranged' echelon of special units anywhere, except for the Chinese, and such a rout step march. He has no reason to flatter. I think that our friends from Hungary were positively surprised by how much the Serbian army has progressed," Vucevic emphasized.

Vucevic pointed out that President Aleksandar Vucic, as commander-in-chief, had given importance to the army and that without him, change could not happen.

"When the president gave the order that 5,000 soldiers and 2,400 weapons and tools come out, it shakes the whole system. And we see what works and what doesn't work. It is always an ideal test for ourselves within the defense system. It is not just a demonstration or an exhibition, but a test by the Serbian Armed Forces. The president asked us to show almost everything, we could see the unmanned aircraft CH-95. It is a drone the size of a smaller plane," Vucevic said.

He assessed that there was a moment in the world when the great powers did not accept that you were militarily neutral, that you thought for yourself, and added that Serbia had a clear policy that it adhered to.

"Here, after 200 years, Sweden has opted for a military bloc alignment. I joked and said that they should give us 200 years of military neutrality, so maybe one day we too will decide on an alliance. At this moment, I think it is good that Serbia is militarily neutral, although you will hear from some people present in the media that this should not be Serbia's policy. That we are surrounded by NATO countries which is true, that this is reality, that a new iron curtain is being built, and that Serbia will remain on the other side of the curtain," Vucevic said.

He added that Serbia had a clear political goal, which was EU membership, but that he thought it was best to be militarily neutral.

"We cannot trample on people's feelings. What happened in 1998 and 1999? I would like all those smart people to visit a family. You have to respect the pain and the price that the people paid. We must not forget any of our fighters, nor the people from 1990, those who were persecuted in Croatia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then in 1999 and the Kosare, which are a symbol of suffering. We should not forget Pashtrik either. We should not forget our heroes, brave radar operators and pilots, who risked their lives. We have no right to forget about them," Vucevic concluded.