Bogosavljević: Vučić should stay away from Novi Sad and forget it

Žarko Bogosavljević has one piece of advice for Aleksandar Vučić ahead of a planned Serbian Progressive Party rally in Novi Sad: stay away. The journalist said Vučić should “simply forget Novi Sad” and leave the campaign to SNS activists, who already have stands across the city.

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I think it would be wisest for Aleksandar Vučić not to come to Novi Sad, to simply forget Novi Sad and not come here

Speaking to N1, Bogosavljević said organizing the rally in its announced form was dangerous in an already tense environment. He pointed to plans to bring in hundreds of buses, close streets and empty businesses in the city center to prepare for the event.

“There is an electrified atmosphere,” he said, referring to a recent SNS gathering in Veternik where a fight broke out. At a commemorative gathering in Novi Sad marking 22 months since the canopy collapse, he said, people were focused almost entirely on Friday and what might happen that day.

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There is an electrified atmosphere

Bogosavljević said he hoped any SNS rally would pass without incidents and that Novi Sad would not see scenes like those in Užice. He also said police should allow residents to stand at a reasonable distance and express their opposition to Vučić’s visit.

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I hope that, even if there is an SNS rally, there will be no incidents and that we will not see scenes like those in Užice

He described the appearance as an issue of pre-election campaigning, saying Vučić was primarily addressing voters who could deliver him votes. Bogosavljević predicted that Novi Sad would be filled with police and said he feared officers might act as they had in Užice and Veternik. He accused police of failing to respond to attacks on citizens and of turning their backs during incidents in August last year.

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The police cannot behave like that