University Professor: Current Authorities Hold on to Power with Help from Criminal Structures

Students ZEMUN Photo: Nikola Sablic

A professor of the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, Ognjen Radonjic, stated on June 26 that the current authorities were holding on to power solely with the help of criminal structures, because the majority of the people are standing with the students.

Radonjic told BETA that the students’ demands for the scheduling of elections and the removal of the tent encampment in the Pioneers’ Park would not be fulfilled without strong public pressure, just like the students’ initial demands were not.

“Large rallies disturb the authorities, but not enough to schedule elections. The probability for their losing the elections is high, because they have lost the majority support of the people, who are standing with the students. And, if they lose the elections, the current authorities would also lose the billions, the public resources and perhaps even their freedom,” the professor assessed. In his words, the authorities are losing trust in the military and police and have also lost the economic leverage.

“A drastic drop in foreign direct investment has been registered and the budget deficit is almost three times higher than in the same period last year. This is a regime of criminals and robbers and is only staying in power because of help from the criminal structures. They have largely lost confidence in the police and military and the only leverage they have remaining are the criminals,” Radonjic stated.