Politologist: Serbian Army, Police Led by Superloyalists

Promotional Ceremony for Army of Serbia Junior Officers (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

The authorities of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic are beating the drums of war and talking geopolitics because they having nothing left to do, Belgrade Center for Security Policy director of research Predrag Petrovic has told the Vreme weekly.

The militarization of Serbia is reaching its peak, which can be seen in the appointment of the biggest "loyalists" to leading positions, the arming of the country and above all in the constant talk about supposed threats, Petrovic said adding that the reason for that was that the authorities were not succeeding in solving the true problems that citizens had. "We are witnesses to the creation of an atmosphere of besiegement so to speak: Serbia is threatened virtually from all sides, an attack is coming that could threaten it existentially, and then, as a result, there are numerous internal enemies acting in cahoots with foreign ones," Petrovic said.

He said that the Serbian Progressive Party's authorities had not even tried to seriously preserve the concept of a professional army - the army is dissipating so conscription is being announced again. Sizable quantities of weapons are being purchased, some of which is truly needed, but, as he said, "There is an absolute imbalance between investment in the security sector, on the one hand, and investment in culture and education on the other."

"In addition to that the language of aggression and violence is growing in the speeches of government representatives which is then spread through the pro-government media, while at the same time culture and education, as the cradles of free thought, are being suppressed," Petrovic said.