Student protests in Serbia, which have been going on for months, are not orchestrated by external groups, but the result of deep dissatisfaction with corruption and the lack of rule of law under Aleksandar Vučić's rule in Serbia, says liberal Serbian politician and University of Belgrade professor Ivan Videnović.
In an interview for The GeopostVidenović emphasizes that law enforcement is the main demand of students who are protesting, demanding responsibility for the roof collapse at a train station in Novi Sad, which left 15 people dead.
According to him, Russia supports Vučić's government, which still refuses to fully align with EU foreign policy. While criticizing China for exploiting corrupt opportunities in Serbia, acquiring property and wealth through secret and non-transparent deals.
He also talks about the influence of the current government of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, the possibilities of the opposition, and the European Union's stance on the political situation in Serbia.
"It is very clear that Russia is supporting the Vucic government. To what extent, to what extent this support goes, it is difficult to say, but at the moment it suits the position of Vucic, who is still refusing to fully accommodate and fully align with the foreign policy of the European Union. China is exploiting corrupt opportunities to corruptly obtain certain jobs, even some ownership, some real estate, some mines, some land in Serbia, through these secret agreements, which I don't know, are friendly, fraternal, this and that, but at the end of the day, they are certainly non-transparent," he says.
Videnovic says Vucic is using the Serbian minority in Kosovo as a tool for his political agenda.
"Yes, what we have seen now in northern Kosovo is that the citizens of the north still see his Serbian List as a kind of guarantor of security. It simply means that the awareness that they can, that they have the freedom, that they have the opportunity and space to organize themselves politically and represent their interests in the best possible way in the Kosovo Assembly has not yet matured in the people of northern Kosovo. They are still clinging to Serbia's somewhat protective stance towards them. It is very clear that there is still work to be done on this, although it is not entirely certain, although I think that six different Serbian lists, or rather six groups, participated in these elections, it is not entirely clear whether these groups, to the extent that they offer an alternative policy, offer those groups that have again shown themselves strong enough to challenge the Serbian List. So far in this crisis, I have not seen Vučić using the citizens of northern Kosovo as a way out," said Videnović.
