Opposition Official in Open Letter to OSCE Mission Chief: You're Supporting an Undemocratic Regime

Borko Stefanovic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Deputy president of the opposition Freedom and Justice Party Borko Stefanovic on July 24 sent an open letter to the head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, Jan Braathu, saying that the party would be forced to inform the OSCE headquarters that Braathu, as he put it, was supporting "the corrupt, undemocratic and anti-European regime" in Serbia.

"We are deeply shocked and offended by your last statement made during a meeting with Justice Minister of the Republic of Serbia Maja Popovic. In your public announcement, you underlined 'Serbia's significant efforts in advancing judicial reform, as well as anti-corruption efforts and suppression of organized crime.' We fail to share your obviously blurred view and are wondering what you are actually talking about," Stefanovic wrote.

Stefanovic asked the OSCE Mission chief where he saw the authorities' "anti-corruption efforts," when it was "a notorious fact and truth that the Serbian Progressive Party regime has passed a special law which disables any public procedure and tenders, with the intention of spending more than 17 billion euros on the Expo project in the dark, and enabling high-level embezzlement."

In the letter, Stefanovic recalled that "the Progressive party regime and Aleksandar Vucic carried out and organized a massive negative campaign against the OSCE/ODIHR mission during and after the stolen elections in December last year," adding that the campaign had been organized by ministers from the government Braathu was praising and which also comprised two ministers "blacklisted" because of their ties to organized crime, Aleksandar Vulin and Nenad Popovic.

"The mission of the old and esteemed organization you represent in Serbia through its reports confirmed the huge irregularities and election theft in Serbia by the Progressive party regime," stressed Stefanovic, adding that "none of the Serbian institutions have reacted to these proven and confirmed findings of stolen elections" and that even so, Braathu was supporting the regime in Serbia "in the struggle and efforts against corruption and organized crime."