“WE WILL NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE DEMANDS ARE MET”: Farmers occupy the Rača Municipality building, demanding the resignation of the entire leadership!

A group of farmers in Rača Kragujevačka blocked Karađorđeva Street in that town early this morning, and then entered the Municipality building. They announced that they will not leave it until their demands are met. The President of the Municipality, Branko Radosavljević, claims that they have addressed the Ministry of Finance to find a solution.

Farmers have been protesting in Rača since January 30th and are demanding the return of property tax to the 2024 level, as the new one has been increased by 60 percent, as well as the resignations of the entire municipal leadership.

This morning, the farmers’ protest began in Rača Kragujevačka. The president of the Movement of Farmers of Serbia, Milan Milošević, told Nova television that they will be in the Rača Municipality building for the next few days, after which they will decide on further radicalization of the protest.

“We have been on the street for sixteen days, this is our house, our building. We will stay in the Municipality building until further notice and we will not leave it until our demands are answered. We will stay there until the demands are met. We will be there, in warm rooms. They receive salaries from our taxes and contributions and we demand that they do their job, which has not been the practice so far. We will stay here until the end,” Milošević said.

He announced that they will stay in the municipality building for a few days, after which they will decide how to radicalize the protest. They will ask the inspections to check the work of the municipal bodies and “will not leave until everything is sorted out and cleared up”.

According to him, the municipal authorities must understand “that they live off the farmers, that they receive salaries from their contributions and payments”.

“We are simply asking them to do their job… We will not sit still, we will radicalize if necessary,” Milošević said.

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President of the Rača Municipality: “We have shown goodwill”

The President of the Rača Municipality, Branko Radosavljević, told TV Nova that the municipality “has really done everything and shown goodwill to respond adequately to the farmers’ proposals”, adding that after last week’s meetings, they addressed the Ministry of Finance to find a solution.

“We are ready to, within the legal possibilities, arrange for the farmers not to suffer great damage, that is, excessive financial expenses,” Radosavljević said.

When it comes to the second demand regarding the resignation of the municipal leadership, he said that they are currently discussing the demands for the return of the tax to the 2024 level and the arrangement of field roads.

“I think that resignations are a political issue and that farmers in our municipality are not so much interested in them as in finding solutions to other demands,” Radosavljević stated.

Farmers have been blocking the central street in that town day and night since January 30th, when the farmers’ negotiations with the municipal leaders on the return of the property tax to last year’s level failed, and they are also demanding the resignation of the President of the Municipality.

The farmers decided to take this step because they are dissatisfied with the increase in the municipal property tax, which has been increased by 60 percent since the beginning of this year.

They are also demanding the resignations of local officials, councilors of the municipal assembly and the calling of local elections.