SERBIAN DIASPORA REACTED TO VUČIĆ’S LETTER TO THE FINANCIAL TIMES: “Police brutality is a constant feature of his rule”

Representatives of the Serbian diaspora who support the students in the blockade sent a response to the Financial Times to the letter from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to the British newspaper, stating that he made a series of untruths in an attempt to deceive the European public and stay in power.

In the letter, sent yesterday to the editorial board of the Financial Times, editors Roula Khalaf and Southeast Europe correspondent Marton Dunai, representatives of 18 Serbian diaspora groups stated that Vučić’s letter to the Financial Times is “the latest attempt by a faltering autocrat to stay in power.”

“Mr. Vučić has enjoyed the indulgence of European leaders for too long, many of whom are driven by fear of regional instability. Since 2012, Vučić has played both the role of a pyromaniac and the role of a firefighter. The citizens of Serbia hope that the European public now recognizes his authoritarian methods and stands with them in building a free, democratic, and modern Serbia,” the diaspora representatives stated.

Regarding Vučić’s letter, with which he responded to last week’s column in the Financial Times, the diaspora representatives, among other things, deny the Serbian president’s claim that his government “has always sought to negotiate in good faith.”

“That claim is a great exaggeration, given that since coming to power in 2012, he has persistently refused open debate, suppressed parliamentary opposition, and silenced dissenting voices, through intimidation and almost complete control over the media structure in the country,” the letter from the united diaspora, published on the social network X, states.

It adds that “the latest manifestation of the tightening of media control is Vučić’s order, through the leadership of the state-owned company Telekom Serbia and United Group, to remove the director (of United Media, Aleksandra Subotić) who is in charge of several remaining independent media outlets, which was confirmed by a leaked audio recording.”

“After 13 years of almost complete control over every institution and local community, the people of Serbia are rising again to say ‘Enough,’ and what Vučić characterizes as efforts aimed at ‘inciting unrest and violence’ are actually peaceful protests, whose participants have been repeatedly attacked by his loyalists, many of whom have criminal records,” the diaspora states in the letter.

The diaspora groups that support the rebellious students point out to the Financial Times that “the Serbian police forces, which are far from protecting citizens, stand idly by, or even worse – actively participate in the repression.”

“Police brutality has been a constant feature of his rule since 2012. All that time, Mr. Vučić has mobilized state security and intelligence forces to intimidate dissenters. The Security Information Agency (BIA) has summoned students and their parents for ‘informal’ interrogations, detained dozens of young people on false charges of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, and singled out individuals based on their religious or national identity,” it is stated.

It adds that since December 2024, more than 1,000 people have been unlawfully detained, that many of them have been beaten and abused, and that some Serbs have fled abroad, seeking safety from persecution.

Regarding Vučić’s claim in the letter to the Financial Times that his government “took significant steps to address citizens’ concerns after the tragedy in Novi Sad,” the diaspora points out that the collapse of the canopy on November 1, 2024, in which 16 people lost their lives, “is not just a tragedy, but the result of severe negligence and corruption at the highest levels, in which both Mr. Vučić and ministers in the Serbian Government participated.”

“The only ‘steps’ taken were the arrests of whistleblowers who exposed these corrupt practices. Moreover, Mr. Vučić pardoned individuals who attacked peaceful demonstrators, including a group that brutally beat and severely injured a female student in Novi Sad,” the diaspora representatives stated.

The united Serbian diaspora adds at the end of the letter that Serbia is at a crossroads.

“The citizens of Serbia have shown courage by demanding accountability; now it is up to everyone to recognize their struggle and to ensure that the country’s path is not defined by repression, but by the principles of democracy, freedom, and modern governance,” warns 18 Serbian diaspora groups.

The letter to the Financial Times was signed by the following groups: Paris 11:52, London with the students, Berlin with the students, Blockade Vienna, Netherlands 11:52, Switzerland 11:52, Spain 11:52, Thumbs Up Belgium, Frankfurt with the students, New York with the students, Washington with the students, San Francisco with the students, Boston with the students, Los Angeles in support of the students, Citizens’ Assembly Toronto, Montreal with the students, Perth with the students, and SviĆe Diaspora.

In last week’s column, to which Vučić reacted with a letter, the Financial Times stated that Europe “must increase pressure on the Serbian president to be more accountable and to hold truly fair elections, in order to avoid a deeper democratic backsliding.”

While the U.S. appears to have left the Balkan area for now, the EU and Great Britain have not, but they have appeased Vučić for too long, the newspaper stated and added that Brussels and London should act and use their economic influence.

“If they don’t, and Serbia continues on an authoritarian path, it will not only be Vučić’s fault, but also his Western supporters who look away,” the London daily stated.

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