Djuric: Images of violence harm Serbia's image in the West and the USA

The Ambassador of Serbia in Washington, Marko Djuric, emphasizes that images of violence and chaos, which are staged on the streets of Belgrade, harm Serbia's image in the Western world and the USA.

Djuric, speaking to Informer television, explained that the violence seen on the streets of Belgrade and serious accusations irresponsibly made without evidence only confirmed and encouraged negative stereotypes from the 1990s.

"We should not overestimate the interest of the American public. A large part of the American public has not heard much about Serbia since the 1990s. We invest a lot in refreshing the image of Serbia. And then, irresponsible and unconfirmed accusations come from certain political activists, contributing to the continuation of the policy of criticism", he pointed out.

He said that, in coordination with the state leadership, he was participating in diplomatic efforts to inform the international community about what was happening in Serbia.

"The truth is that we had one of the best-organized election cycles, with extraordinary results", he added.

When asked how American media reported on the situation in Serbia, he said that a large part of not only American but also the entire Western public received information from media whose correspondents in Serbia resembled activists of some political groups in their approach.

"I do not want to criticize the work of media workers; they have complete freedom to report as they think they should. However, the way they report on what is happening in Belgrade, from my point of view, is very colored by their ideological background. A large part of them follows the same political and ideological lines as opposition leaders who tried to occupy the city parliament building", Djuric said.

He adds that he believes some of them act out of interest, while others, from political convictions, believe they are doing good and positive things. However, he says they actually open up a wide space for attacks on Serbia and for presenting Serbia as supposedly undemocratic compared to Kosovo, which is portrayed as a democratic country.

"We see a huge number of Albanian lobbyists and members of other ethnic groups and nationalist circles from the region repeating that narrative that harms us", the Ambassador of Serbia to the USA emphasized.

Commenting on the message of the US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, that "violence and vandalism against state institutions have no place in a democratic society", he said that such a statement was very responsible and significant because such an assessment was, in fact, a call for stabilization in a situation where certain political representatives were trying to provoke riots and instability through their actions.

Therefore, he adds, any kind of support for the normalization of the political situation is welcome.

"Despite the differences we have with the US, for example, on Kosovo, we have a common interest in preserving peace and stability in the region and strengthening economic cooperation. It is not easy for Hill to objectively and impartially assess the situation in Belgrade because he is the target of numerous and significant attacks from a part of the political spectrum that believes it can subjugate political opponents with insults and verbal violence", Djuric said.

In response to the question of whether insults against Hill harm relations between Serbia and the United States, he noted that a part of the daily attacks on President Aleksandar Vucic and those who followed his policy had spilled over to Hill. According to him, this is a shame because Serbs are hospitable people who respect representatives of other countries, with whom they have different views on some issues, and this is by no means in Serbia's interest.

The Ambassador stated that the news that the Chair of the Serbian Caucus in Congress, Claudia Tenney, had proposed a law a few days ago requiring the US administration to suspend aid to Kosovo until Pristina withdrew its forces from the north and stopped terror and violence against the Serbs had almost gone unnoticed.

"The fact that someone has spoken out for the Serbs in this way is very important", Djuric emphasized.

Regarding the invasion of the US Capitol in January 2021, Djuric recalled that everyone who had been detained for it had been prosecuted, stating that some processes were ongoing, while some of those arrested had been sentenced to decades in prison.

"Institutions of the system do not tolerate violence and undermining of the constitutional order and apply the full force of the law", the ambassador added.

When asked what he expected, he assessed that everyone was witnessing the "swan song of the worn-out elite of the so-called opposition".

"As someone committed to the rule of the people and law, I regret that more responsible people did not represent opposition ideas than those who called for an assault on the Belgrade City Assembly", Djuric said and assessed that it was clear that the opposition was seeking refuge in riots and violence for a failed policy.

He also stated that the elections had been a "sort of cleansing process from which the people wiped out a number of opposition leaders from the political scene, and they themselves are finishing that job with this violence. Their attempts will not succeed", Djuric emphasized.

He added that everything the opposition was doing was an insult to the 26 percent of citizens who supported that option because, he was convinced, the majority of people did not support and could not support the wrong, violent, and unconstitutional policies.

"It's not surprising that Vucic is in their focus, but that means they haven't learned anything. He has the best ratings of all leaders... Instead of offering solutions, personnel, the ruling structure, and better solutions to problems and challenges... They eliminate themselves. They extinguish every idea of the opposition with their behavior. Therefore, I ask everyone for reason and prudence in the opposition ranks because that will contribute to the image of Serbia, which was damaged in the '90s and which we want to change towards the image of a country moving forward, open-handed, a country of peace, progress, and stability. And they are sending a bad image that our political opponents can hardly wait for", Djuric concluded.