The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) discussed the current political crisis in Serbia today, and that debate was interrupted before the scheduled time expired, which led to protests from those present, Đorđe Stanković, Vice President of the People’s Movement of Serbia and Member of Parliament, told Nova.rs.
Namely, as Stanković said in a statement for Nova.rs, the “Serbian Parliament was practically introduced into the European one” today.
The session was supposed to last for an hour, but the chairman interrupted it after 45 minutes, which prevented several speakers from presenting their views on the situation in our country.
According to Stanković, the session was interrupted just before he was due to speak.
Our interlocutor states that the chairman said that he was “instructed to interrupt the session” and that he was only carrying out what was asked of him.
“I demanded to speak, he refused to allow it, however, at that moment, representatives of all groups stood up, including the EPP, the left, socialists, and conservatives, and demanded that the session on Serbia continue. He refused, and then chaos literally erupted. Everyone stood up and demanded the session continue, and the chairman finally agreed,” Stanković says.
He added that during his presentation, he emphasized that free elections are necessary for change and that citizens in Serbia are fighting for this both on the street and in institutions.
“I believe that almost all of you in your countries have the rule of law, functional institutions, and, of course, free elections. We do not have that, because wherever elections have been held in recent years, the ruling party has sent thugs and influenced the election results. That is why it is important for you to know everything that is happening in Serbia,” Stanković said during the autumn session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
Đorđe Stanković, Vice President of the People’s Movement of Serbia and Member of Parliament, also said that in the middle of the European continent, police torture, the formation of para-police forces, the brutal beating of students, and threats of rape are occurring in the building of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, as well as threats to kill a student on a live television program by a spokesperson for the ruling party.
“They do all of this without a shred of feeling for responsibility because Aleksandar Vučić is the one who gives them the right to do so. Due to the lack of accountability and corruption, for which no one has been held responsible and which killed 16 people in Novi Sad, citizen and student protests in Serbia have been ongoing for the past 11 months, and instead of indictments and elections, we have increasing repression,” Stanković said.
Biljana Pantić Pilja accused students in Serbia of violence, attacks on the police, and the constitutional order.
During the debate, representatives of various parliamentary delegations from the member states of the Council of Europe had the opportunity to express their views on the respect for democratic standards and the rule of law in Serbia, the right to freedom of assembly and peaceful protest, the neutrality of institutions (judiciary, police), and the unimpeded work of the media, the role of civil society, independent institutions, and the opposition in political dialogue, as well as the mechanisms of supervision and recommendations that the Council of Europe can apply to stabilize the situation.
The sound cannon attack in Belgrade, threats of rape against student Nikolina Sinđelić, as well as the violent political detention of students and opposition activists were also mentioned.
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Source: Nova.rs; Photo: Fonet