Vucic Urges SNS Supporters Not to Retaliate With Violence

Aleksandar Vucic, who heads the Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia list, urged SNS supporters on September 30 not to answer attacks on activists in Novi Sad and Nis with violence. He posted his address on Instagram from the village of Krs in the Rudna Glava local community, where he spent the night at the home of Stanimir, a friend from his army days, after attending a Vlach celebration the previous evening. He then continued his tour of Serbia in his Skoda, first to Vratna monastery near Negotin. It was the third day of his campaign tour, whose start, from Jajinci toward Pozarevac, we covered earlier.

“With responsibility, peace and patience we must defeat their violence!” Vucic said in a video address from Krs.

What did Vucic ask of his supporters?

The message was aimed first of all at members and sympathizers of the list. Vucic said that “terrible things happened” in Novi Sad and Nis last night, that “our people were attacked,” and asked for restraint:

“I ask you, wherever we can, to step aside, to avoid any incident anywhere and at every place, and to show how much more responsible we are than they are, to show how much more serious and dedicated we are.”

He also accused his political opponents of nervousness and said they would turn more violent because, as he claims, “they see that they are losing the election.” That assessment is his own and is not backed by any finding from a competent authority. He devoted the closing part of the recording to how he sees his opponents:

“We see people in them. We do not see enemies in them, the way they see enemies in us.”

He added: “We wish them no harm, and we must behave differently from them.”

What happened in Nis and what has been established?

At Vratna monastery, Vucic said he must get to Nis and visit the injured activist:

“I have to come to Nis too, to the Clinical Center, to visit Denis Stojanovic, who is lying there with severe head injuries. He was attacked by some man who is apparently also the honorary consul of Austria, God only knows, in Nis…”

The activist is Denis Stojanovic (53), who was admitted to the University Clinical Center Nis (UKC Nis) with a head injury. According to information from the center, a hematoma is visible above his eye, and a follow-up scan showed bleeding, which is why he was kept for observation. “Severe head injuries” is therefore Vucic’s own assessment, while the medical findings are what the clinical center reported.

According to the SNS version, the incident took place on Tuesday afternoon on Tihomir Brankovic Joca Street, as Stojanovic and Jovan Cvetkovic arrived at one address while canvassing door to door. The activists told police that Goran Jovanovic, the honorary consul of Austria in Nis, chased them out of his yard, allegedly picked up a metal bar, and then struck Stojanovic with his head. Police and prosecutors have not independently established how the physical contact came about, or whether the motive was political. That is still being checked, so these are claims by those involved, not established facts.

What did he say about Novi Sad?

In Novi Sad, SNS activist Ljiljana Cvjetkovic was punched, and another activist was hurt with a bottle near the Futoska market. Vucic said he spoke with Cvjetkovic last night:

“A wonderful, brave woman who, when I talked to her, was neither crying nor complaining, and said: ‘I am proud that we are fighting against this kind of thing’.”

The outlet Nova S published a story describing the event as a clash between SNS activists and citizens. Vucic responded:

“I do not know what to say to that. So the woman activist hit a citizen’s fist with her head, is that it? It is so impudent and reckless that I am speechless.”

The day before, at Bezanijska Kosa, there was an incident involving Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic. Kreni-Promeni councilwoman Tatjana Micic says Sapic hit her, while Sapic claims he only pushed her away. Prosecutors are conducting proceedings to establish the circumstances. There is no evidence that the two events are connected, and their closeness in time, in the middle of a campaign, is the only thing they have in common.

Debate and deadlines before the election

Vucic repeated his call for a debate to Ilija Srdanovic, Crta, Hubac and Soskic:

“What do you mean I do not want dialogue, I offered it, I offered it to them, Srdanovic can come and Crta too, and Hubac too, Soskic can also come to help them, they can all be on one side, I will be on the other side, I have no problem.”

Of Srdanovic he said: “I do not understand what is wrong with that man, I do not understand what is wrong with those people.” By his account, there are 22 to 23 days until the pre-election silence, and the election is scheduled for October 25. The first big rally of the list is announced for October 3 at Belgrade Arena. As of the time of writing, the newsroom had no response from the opposing camp to his statements.