The Parliament of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was discussing today the current political crisis in Serbia, but the debate was interrupted before the end of the scheduled time and those present reacted with dissatisfaction.
According to Gjorge Stankovic, vice president of the People’s Movement of Serbia and MP, “today we have almost introduced the Serbian parliament into the European one.”
The session was supposed to last an hour, but the chairman interrupted it after 45 minutes, preventing several speakers from expressing their views on the situation in the country, reports nova.rs.
Stankovic says the interruption occurred as soon as he was ready to speak. He reports that the chairman stated that he was “ordered to interrupt the session” and he simply carried out this order.
He adds that supporters of the parliamentary groups – from the EPP, the left, the socialists and the conservatives – demanded that the session be continued. The chairman initially refused, but in the end was forced to allow it to continue.
During his speech, Stankovic stressed that free elections are necessary and that citizens in Serbia are fighting for this, both on the streets and within institutions. He also said that in his country there is no rule of law, functional institutions or freedom of elections, as the ruling party has sent “citizens with sticks” and influenced the election results.
He described how torture by the police, the formation of parapolice forces, brutal violence against students, threats of rape – even in the Serbian Government building – were taking place in the “heart of the European continent”, and that a student had been threatened with death on a television program by the spokesman for the ruling party.
According to him, all these actions become papal insensitivity to responsibility, because Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić gives them the right to do so. He emphasizes that the lack of responsibility and corruption – for which no one has been held accountable – have led to the deaths of 16 people in Novi Sad and protests by citizens and students over the past 11 months. In the face of lawsuits and elections, he says, repression has increased.
During the debate, representatives of parliamentary delegations from Council of Europe member states discussed issues such as respect for democratic standards and the rule of law in Serbia, the right to peaceful protest, the neutrality of institutions (courts, police), the free work of the media, the role of civil society, independent institutions and the opposition in political dialogue, monitoring mechanisms and recommendations that the Council of Europe may propose to stabilize the situation.
The article also mentioned the use of a “sound cannon” in Belgrade, threats of rape against student Nikolina Singjelic, and political arrests of students and opposition activists. /Telegraph/