Vučić, Photo: BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić today once again expressed his support for the leader of the Democratic People’s Party in Montenegro, Milan Knežević, stating that he does not want to interfere in the internal relations of that country, but that he will always care and show concern and be on the side of the Serbian people outside Serbia.
At the annual press conference, held at the new House of eGovernment in Belgrade, Vučić said that he had spoken twice today with Knežević, a member of the Montenegrin parliament who voluntarily entered a police vehicle in support of the citizens of Zeta who tried to prevent today’s start of construction of the wastewater treatment plant in Botun.
After the Montenegrin police announced that they had detained 54 people after several incidents, Vučić said he was concerned because those arrested “were not people who attacked the police, nor were they people who threw sticks and stones at the police, but people who came in front of their houses.”
“I do not want to interfere in their internal relations, Knežević is the leader of the Serbian people in Montenegro, that is why we expressed our concern. Personally, he is my friend and not only will I not renounce that friendship, but I boast about it. I tried not to use a single harsh word. I hope everything will be fine, I wish all the best to the people of Montenegro,” said Vučić, who earlier today announced that Knežević had been arrested.
Vučić also said that as the president of the state, he has an obligation to care for representatives of the Serbian people outside Serbia, and added that he will “always care and show concern and be on the side of the Serbian people, without violating either the territorial integrity or any powers of another state.”
“I want them to overcome that, and I don’t want to interfere in anything else, not even in the daily attacks directed against me and Serbia. And it won’t be that no one in the (Montenegrin) government knows anything about it. We know that the wing of (former Montenegrin leader Milo) Djukanovic is doing it, but we are surprised that some others are doing it too, but let them continue. We wish them all the best, Montenegro has always been and will always be a brotherly state for us,” Vučić added.
Earlier today, Vučić wrote on Instagram that “the leader of the Democratic People’s Party, and more importantly, the leader of the Serbian people, Milan Knežević, has been arrested in Montenegro.”
“He defended the will of the people expressed in the referendum. In difficult moments, I have always been and will be by my friends’ side. Milan is that and I am proud of our friendship and I hope that he will soon be free,” Vučić said.
The residents of Botuni have been protesting for years against the planned construction of a wastewater treatment plant, arguing that they do not want another polluter in their backyard. They tried to prevent the start of construction today, leading to incidents and arrests, after which Knežević announced his withdrawal from the ruling coalition.
“Until this morning, I was a member of the parliamentary majority. As soon as this agony is over, I will propose at the party presidency to leave this bloody government. We don’t even remember what happened today during the Đukanović era. I have not had any communication with any of the coalition partners,” said Knežević.
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