"Croatian politics towards Serbia is a mixture of complexes, a guilty conscience, and bad intentions.
"Croatian politicians act like they're afraid Serbia might exact its revenge for the evils and atrocities committed by Croatia against Serbs. This is why every time Serbia gets stronger, they see it as a threat," Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandar Vulin said in his interview with Kurir.
It is pointed out that Serbia does not intend to get into a conflict with anyone, but when you read what the representatives of the Croatian state are saying, that is the impression you get.
"On the other hand, they never fail to attack those that do a good job for the benefit of Serbs and Serbia. That's why they hate Vučić so much. If they could, they would ban him – like they have banned me – from so much as passing through Croatia. Croatian politicians have a Vučić complex. They're simply fascinated by the President of Serbia, and that's why they write about him more than about the Pope and Stepinac together. They harm Serbia wherever they can. The latest thing they came up with was tying Serbia's Euro-integration to the recognition of the fake genocide in Srebrenica. I'm grateful to them for that – we really shouldn't join the EU if that comes bundled up with curing Croats of their complexes. Serbian Croats can rest at ease, no one judges them by what Milanović says and does."
On elections
'A fight for a strong and independent Serbia'
We will have a general election in early April. What will change afterwards? And where do you see yourself after this short term in office at the Ministry of Internal Affairs?
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs' results are evident, from the statistics to the feeling that ordinary folks have – that they're safer and more secure. My job is made considerably easier because I have the support of President Vučić, who has provided the Ministry with everything they need, and only asks in return that we follow the law. I expect further efforts to be invested to ensure that our policy of building a strong, independent, and militarily neutral Serbia continues to be implemented. Nothing else is as important."
At the same time, the President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, is increasingly lambasting our country and president, not to mention his attacks against anything to do with the Serbian Church and the enthronement of Metropolitan Joanikije. Are the attacks by Zagreb and Podgorica connected? Does it strike you – as it does some analysts – as an orchestrated and synchronized action? And what is it aimed at?
"The Croatian media were reporting on the Cetinje unrest as the resistance to the Serbian aggression. As if Serbia had sent in the military which the Cetinje locals were putting up resistance to. They had headlines like 'If Montenegro falls, you know who's next,' and welcomed each violent act by the Montenegrins as an instance of legitimate resistance. This was followed by the meeting of Milanović and Đukanović, and there was no mention there of either Montenegro or Croatia, only Serbia and Vučić. Croatia considers Montenegro as its area of interest, the 'red Croatia', and there has always been a Sekula Drljević who would join the Ustashe. It's evident that there is a slew of politicians who put their country at the disposal of the old plan of 'curbing Serbia'. The stronger Serbia is, the more attacks will take place."
Do you think that Priština has made use of just this sort of atmosphere to enact the contentious reciprocity measures now, and send armed troops to the crossings? What is their ultimate goal, i.e. the background to this – to put it mildly – terror over Serbs in Kosovo?
"The Albanians have local by-elections coming up, and nothing gets you as many votes as hatred of Serbia and evils inflicted upon the Serbs. Kurti is taking this opportunity to consolidate his position among the Albanians, but he didn't do that without consulting the Western powers. The problem is that they all have misassessed the situation, thinking that Vučić would accept the fake compromise, and now they don't know how to resolve the problem of their own making. That's why Vučić is getting attacked – he won't agree to legalizing force."
Bearing all this in mind, although Belgrade is in favour of dialogue, do you think that there is room and the right conditions for the dialogue to continue soon?
"As soon as they withdraw the troops from the North, opportunities for a conversation will arise. This isn't the decision of the Albanians, we know what they want and what they're doing. This is a question for the EU, whether their word means anything and whether their signature has any validity. For nine years they haven't formed the Community of Serb Municipalities. All that's happening now is the result of the EU lies and cowardice."
The draft of the Law on the Police, which your Ministry had put forward, was withdrawn on Thursday as a result, according to some, of an order issued by President Vučić. How do you comment on that, and do you agree with the criticisms of the law?
On the "Serbian world"
'Everyone can unite, only Serbs aren't allowed'
You're criticised for mentioning the "Serbian world"…
"Yes, the very same people who criticise me for ramping up Serbia's security attack 'the Serbian world' as a process of the political and cultural unification of Serbs. It's interesting that all these people are silent when Kurti says that a future referendum on the unification of Kosovo and Albania will be 'an expression of Kosovo's freedom'. 'Greater Albania' isn't a problem, but 'the Serbian world' is. When Milanović says that he is the president of all Croats, including even those in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that's not an issue, but when I say that Vučić is the president of all Serbs, then that's an assault against the stability of the Balkans. Why is it that everyone can unite, but Serbs cannot, and why is breaking up Serbia good for the stability of the region, but Serbs uniting is a threat to the stability of the Balkans? I support the principle of the immutability of borders, and Serbia must be a starting point there. Whoever recognizes the statehood of the fake state of Kosovo must be prepared for the consequences of their actions."
"I haven't heard a single coherent criticism. Whenever Serbia is about to do something to make it stronger, the agent network of non-governmental organizations and political parties springs into action. The Law on Internal Affairs – among other things – should have served as a trigger for the clashes in the streets of Belgrade. Of course, this happened precisely at a time when Serbia has been fighting to keep its people in Kosovo. If you want to weaken Serbia, you do it in Belgrade. The law is great, and Serbia needs it. If you don't intend to kill or rob your neighbour, why would you be worried over the police having the capability to find a lost child, a murderer, a rapist, or a thief in a matter of minutes. We have cameras now as well, but it takes days to go through the recordings and find the links. With this legal solution, making use of state-of-the-art technology, it would take minutes. When you order food via an app on your cell phone, you provide your location, and that's not a problem. When you apply for a visa, you leave all your data in possession of strangers, you nothing about how your data is used and stored, and that's OK. But, if you commit a crime in Serbia, and we find you owing to the new technology, then it is a problem. Thanks to the NGOs and other agent networks, thieves and murderers are a bit safer, and the citizens of Serbia a little bit less safe."
Last week Saša Janković stirred up a public furore by revealing what foreigners had offered to him. This raised the issue of who from the Progressive Party or Vučić's immediate surroundings had given the medical information away to foreigners, as well as who was out to get him. Can we expect an investigation looking into these allegations soon? Given that you are on friendly terms with Vučić, has he told you who he suspects? And have you made any suggestions regarding who it was that was out to get him?
"Janković told the truth. We know which ambassadors and which people from his party would like it if his heart failed. They shouldn't be happy over this, no matter how much Vučić neglects his health and safety. Those of us who are tasked with taking good care of him will do our job. Vučić has become a political factor in his own right, and it's a fact that the political stability – from which any other kind of stability follows – comes from his strength and support that he has in the electorate. If he were to disappear physically and politically, Serbia would go back to the time of internal conflicts and weak governments managed by the embassies. That would be the final nail in the coffin of the hope to unite all Serbs, and it would mean that we are giving up on the fight for Srpska, which cannot survive without Serbia. It would mean leaving the Kosovo Serbs to fate and abandoning both the Serbs in Montenegro and Serbs in Croatia. It would mean heading towards NATO membership and relinquishing military neutrality."
Are some media creating an atmosphere in which it is allowed to curse at President Vučić's mother?
"There's no lie, insult, or vile and base abuse that hasn't been hurled at President Vučić. People claim his father is Albanian although he's a Bosnian Serb. His mother – a woman who was doing her job at the RTS at the time of the bombing and survived by chance – gets cursed at and insulted at 80 years of age. People call him a faggot, and he isn't one. His brother is claimed to be a criminal ruling over Serbia, but Andrej doesn't have a single minor offence, and all the court rulings have been in his favour. With the exception of his membership in the Progressive Party Board, he doesn't hold an office. Danilo, Milica, and the four-year-old Vukan are objects of hate, attacks, and insinuations, and have had people threaten them with rape, liquidation, and arrest. The scumbags hurling curses at the President's mother in the media consider themselves members of the elite and ask for a national frequency, so that the base things they say could carry even further. Needless to say, these vilifiers are supported by IJAS and all the NGOs, the REM is silent on them, the ombudsmen don’t have the legal authority over it, the government ministers try hard not to say anything so that no one insults them, and the ambassadors fond of commenting on our political scene don't think the scumbags threatening children and cursing at a mother are a problem. An atmosphere in which anything directed against Vučić – from curses to murders – is allowed is being created in a premeditated sort of way. Ever since the start of the multiparty system in Serbia, never have there been more street thugs in the media and more hatred in public life."
Ivana Žigić
