cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4144129
The Green-Left Front and the Movement of Free Citizens in Serbia have addressed an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, demanding immediate sanctions against the Serbian regime and its leaders for, as they say, police brutality, systematic violence, and suppression of democratic freedoms.
The letter, signed by opposition representatives Biljana Djordjevic and Radomir Lazovic (ZLF) and Pavle Grbovic (PSG), requests that the European Union take concrete and tough measures against the highest leaders of the Serbian state, including President Aleksandar Vucic, former Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, Defense Minister Milos Vucevic, state security official Djuro Macut and socialist leader Ivica Dacic, reports the media outlet Nova.
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Main requirements from the EU according to the opposition parties:
EU travel ban and asset freeze for Serbian leaders who “have organized and supported violence against citizens”
Punishment of police and paramilitary structures involved in “torture, violence and intimidation of citizens”
Investigation of EU financial assistance to Serbia to ensure it is not being used to “support the repressive state apparatus”
Political pressure for extraordinary elections and urgent implementation of ODIHR recommendations for electoral reform.
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The letter also criticizes massive election manipulation since 2016, especially in 2023 and 2024, impunity for violence by police and armed groups against protesters, and “absurd accusations” of “diversion” against citizens after the tragedy of November 1, 2024 in Novi Sad, where 16 people lost their lives from the collapse of a structure at the railway station.
It also includes the creation of illegal paramilitary camps in the center of Belgrade and the mobilization of criminals to suppress protests in Serbia, torture and abuse of detainees, including threats of sexual violence by special units.
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The letter’s signatories warn that continued support for Vucic’s regime means abandoning Serbian citizens who believe in European values, describing the EU’s current support as “shameful and harmful.”
“The question that needs to be asked today is simple: Is the European Commission aware of who it is supporting in Serbia? What more needs to happen for the EU to withdraw support for the regime?” the authors of the letter write.
The letter ends with a clear call: the EU should stand with citizens and not with a regime that “denies their freedom and dignity.”