Vucic: Kurti would not do this to Serbs if he had not been allowed to by the West

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today that Serbs in Kosovo are being subjected to terror not only by Albin Kurti but also, as he put it, by his supporters in the West, and that Kurti would not be doing everything he is doing to Serbs if he had not been allowed to do so. He said he would send the previously announced letter to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte this evening.

Responding to a journalist's observation that Serbs in Kosovo live in uncertainty because anyone can be arrested and then has to prove their innocence, Vucic replied that they cannot even do that, because the burden of proof has effectively been shifted onto those who are arrested rather than those prosecuting them.

“This is terror, not only by Albin Kurti but also by his supporters in the West. I have no problem saying that truth. They are doing all of this together,” Vucic said.

He pointed out that there is considerable nervousness because 18 years have passed since the West recognized Kosovo, while Serbia did not and will not.

“They thought things were going well for them. They broke up the FR Yugoslavia, the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, as a condition for Kosovo to be able to declare independence. They thought they had separated Kosovo from Serbia, but Serbia still has not accepted that. And it will not accept it, and I tell them that openly to their faces,” Vucic said.

Therefore, he noted, they believe they can blackmail Serbia and all Serbs by harassing, intimidating, arresting, and terrorizing them.

“How many articles did they publish saying that Nenad Raskovic was beaten because he had a gambling debt, that he was beaten by Serbs... They published hundreds of articles, and then yesterday they had to admit that two police officers were being investigated because they had tortured the man in such a manner... What kind of liars and scoundrels are they? They are not human beings. And the same kind of scoundrels are those who support them and are opening the bridge over the Ibar for them. The same kind, and even worse. They still pretend to be naive and clueless, as if they do not see it. The KFOR commander pretends to be clueless, and so does everyone else,” Vucic said.

Vucic noted that he would send a letter this evening to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding the decision for KFOR’s withdrawal from the bridge over the Ibar.

He stressed that Albin Kurti would not be doing what he is doing to Serbs if he had not been allowed to do so by the West.

“They allowed all of this because they are nervous that Kosovo is not independent. They are proud of their state, yet they cannot go to two-thirds of the countries in the world. They want to go to Russia, but they cannot. To China, the number one or number two country, but they cannot. Wherever they want to go in Africa, they cannot. Six out of 55 countries in Africa have recognized Kosovo. So they cannot go anywhere. They can go to Europe, which bombed Serbia together with the United States,” Vucic explained.

He said that Serbia must therefore pursue a responsible and serious policy, ensure economic growth, and see what its interests are.

“They will not drive people out with tractors,” Vucic stressed.

Asked about the hydroelectric power plant on the Ibar, he pointed out that he had been attacked when he mentioned an initiative by the Bosniak community from 2002 to build a hydroelectric power plant in Ribarice.

“They told me it was like a nuclear weapon and that I wanted to destroy Albanian Kosovo,” the President recalled of the criticism.

He asked what people in Serbia want, peace or war, because they cannot have a little of one and a little of the other.

He stressed that anyone leading a country must take all of this into account.

Asked when the announced team of experts would meet, he said that this is a complex issue that needs to be examined more thoroughly and professionally.

Serbian Armed Forces will soon have 40 fighter jets

Vucic had previously announced that the Serbian Armed Forces, which 12 or 13 years ago had only one aircraft capable of taking off, would soon have as many as 40 fighter jets.

“There was one fighter jet. Not counting the MiG-21s, which are coffins the moment they take off... They were coffins in 1999 as well, but we had to defend the country. But that was essentially nothing. And soon we will have 40 fighter jets, not to mention missile systems, multiple rocket launchers, and everything else that you will soon be able to see,” Vucic told journalists in Kursumlija, where he visited the facility of the Yumco factory.

He noted that the workers at “Borbeni Slozeni Sistemi” in Kursumlija are working hard and have achieved even better results than the factory in Velika Plana.

“We will also produce in Kursumlija all the systems we produced in Velika Plana, so that we can enable them to produce some other systems as well, Milos, Milos 2, Lazar, for PASARS, and some other things, chassis or parts of the equipment,” the Serbian President said.