Djilas: Democracy endagered by eight years of Vucic authoritarian rule

Dragan Djilas SSP (Photo: Luka Filipovic)

Party of Freedom and Justice leader Dragan Djilas said on Feb. 28 that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was correct when he said that Serbia's democracy was in danger and added that this was because of Vucic's eight-year-long authoritarian rule and not because of the "self-proclaimed leaders of the opposition," as Vucic stated earlier.

Reacting to an article Vucic penned for a Belgian portal called Euraktiv (www.euractiv.com) about the state of democracy in Serbia, Djilas said that for "eight long years" the state had been "trapped," and that all of the institutions that were supposed to be independent were under the firm control of the Serbian Progressive Party.

"All of the critical voices against his regime coming from artists, academicians, professors, journalists and activists, opposition politicians and activists in particular, have been ruthlessly stifled and everyone with contrary views smeared by tabloids and broadcasters with national coverage which are fully controlled by Aleksandar Vucic, the opposition leader said.

Djilas warned that the media in Serbia "has become a lethal weapon" that is being used against anyone who thinks differently, adding that some opposition MPs had been boycotting parliament for a year and a half to defend "Serbia's systematically humiliated and devastated parliament."