The weekly magazine of The New York Times claims it has discovered Serbian President, Alexandar Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s ties to the organized crime. The lengthy article written by journalist Robert F. Worth explains in detail how Veljko Belivuk, leader of the Janjicari (a notorious so-called football fan group) committed crimes. He and 29 other members of the group were arrested in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a closed-door court session, Veljko Belivuk said that his band \u2018was organized by order of Alexandar Vu\u010di\u0107 and for the state needs\u2019, according to court transcripts,\u201d says the journalist in his article.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe described some of the deeds the group supposedly had done for the government, such as intimidation of political rivals\u201d and that he had personally met with the Serbian President. Vu\u010di\u0107 however has denied these accusations.<\/p>\n
The journalist says he doesn\u2019t believe that Vu\u010di\u0107 has created national Serbian criminal bands, but he undoubtedly used them to strengthen his power.<\/p>\n
\u201cSerbian nationalism fueled the war in Yugoslavia in the \u201890s. It has been around for a long time and the same can be said for the organized crime. I think he is an opportunistic politician, who really wants to be in power. He has been very effective in controlling almost all levers of power in Serbia, and for this he has used all opportunities,\u201d says The New York Times journalist for the Voice of America.<\/p>\n
John Hopkins University professor and observer of developments in the Balkans, Daniel Serwer shares the same idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no politician, who in actual situations, can rise to power in Belgrade, without adapting to the organized crime and its Secret Services. This is clear. The question is whether Vu\u010di\u0107 is part of the problem, or part of the solution. According to his behavior, I\u2019m convinced he\u2019s part of the problem. He has reinstated autocracy in Serbia and has tolerated not only football bands, but also the organized crime,\u201d analyzes Serwer for the Voice of America.<\/p>\n
The New York Times article mentions the risk that the Serbian president might entice a war in order to create the \u201cSerbian World\u201d, a nationalist idea of controlling all territories where Serbs live. This also means sending the army for the annexation of the north of Kosovo.<\/p>\n
According to The New York Times, this keeps European diplomats up at night. Professor Serwer, however, says that Europeans as well as Americans continue to offer unwavering support to the Serbian government.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are lying to themselves and they\u2019re doing it for a reason. They\u2019ve given up on liberal democracy in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, in the Balkans in general. What they\u2019re doing is that they\u2019re trying to use nationalists to stabilize the region. This is an idea that has ever been present in the West, but has become prominent in the Biden administration and it leans heavily towards being positive about Belgrade, no matter what happens,\u201d says Serwer.<\/p>\n
Going back to the article, the American journalist says that Serbs think the situation in their country in general, is even worse compared to Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u0107\u2019s time. The journalist goes as far as saying that he may have been spied during his time in Serbia and that this is a feeling shared even by former president Boris Tadi\u0107, who in a meeting with Robert F. Worth, whispered to him that \u201ca few friends of Belivuk are probably seated near to us\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The weekly magazine of The New York Times claims it has discovered Serbian President, Alexandar Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s ties to the organized crime. The lengthy article written by journalist Robert F. Worth explains in detail how Veljko Belivuk, leader of the Janjicari (a notorious so-called football fan group) committed crimes. He and 29 other members of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":52115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[250,1803],"tags":[2008,150,243,151,2009,934,301,787],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n