Zijad Bećirović: Vučić's Mysteries and Prophecies

Zijad Bećirović from the Ljubljana-based International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies analyzes for "Zašto!" the dramatic address by Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić regarding the arrest of a police officer who cooperated with a foreign secret service, the discovery of a group preparing illegal activities against Montenegro, and the pressures he and the Government expect, reports the Patria News Agency.

Mysteries It is very unusual for the president of a government, the president of a state, or any other official holding the highest office, to deal with minor issues, such as the possible assumption that some state officials cooperate with secret services. That is the job of spokespersons, and primarily of judicial institutions. For anyone who breaks the laws and the constitution of the country, there is a prescribed procedure, so there should be no mystery about it.

Subcontractors Especially since it is notoriously known that intelligence services cover all countries and that, of course, smaller intelligence services in the region work for foreign intelligence services as subcontractors, because they know the language, culture, and mentality better, and thus more easily obtain information. Although, we must be realistic and say that there is less and less information that is not known. Regional countries have such a presence of the foreign factor for almost 30 years, so everything necessary is known about all these countries.

Public Secrets First, it is again unusual for the Prime Minister to comment on the intelligence community in such a way. The intelligence community is a professional, expert agency that protects the interests of an individual state, and its work is secret by law, which means it should not be the subject of public discourse, especially not by prime ministers. Of course, events in recent years, and in recent months, in the region arouse the interest of intelligence services in certain countries, so it is not new that intelligence work has increased – both by major intelligence services and smaller ones, especially neighbors who cover each other.

Intimidation I fear that we are again witnessing some kind of intimidation, invention of enemies, and creation of a psychosis in society that is returning the somewhat relaxed relations of recent years back to the past, where every citizen of Serbia or any other country can potentially be accused of cooperating with some foreign services or some security apparatus in an illegal manner.

Prophecies I don't think it's good for the Prime Minister to engage in such prophecies. At a given moment, it can raise ratings – politicians in the Balkans are obsessed with their own ratings and public positions, however, in the long run, when it turns out that there are no sound foundations for such an assessment, it can cost any politician, including the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, because it can turn out that they used speculations that led to the misleading or deception of the Serbian and wider public.

(Radio Free Europe)