BELGRADE, 18.11.2019. – Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic left the Military Academy Hospital on Monday after three days of treatment following his cardiovascular problems and is expected to continue his daily work, but in the meantime, his associates and pro-regime media continued to accuse N1 TV and its reporter Miodrag Sovilj of indirectly engendering the President’s health by asking questions about the findings by the whistleblower Aleksandar Obradovic.
Obradovic published what he said were documents about some dubious arms trade deals at Serbia’s ammunition Krusik factory and the alleged involvement of Serbia’s Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic’s father. Obradovic is still at house arrest.
The editor of the pro-regime Informer tabloid Dragan J. Vucicevic told the live programme of Pink TV, also close to Vucic and the authorities: “I personally know how it was difficult to President Vucic about what we saw on television, because of that very interesting news conference at the Belgrade Waterfront, and because of some meetings he had with the European parliamentarians. We can talk about that later if you agree?” The anchor agreed.
But, the only issue was the news conference during which Vucic, following the opening of a boulevard at the Belgrade Waterfront, talked to reporters and answered, among other questions, to those related to the document that BIRN published almost a year ago and which showed that the Minister’s father Branko Stefanovic was a part of the GIM company delegation which visited the Krusik factory.
N1 reporter reminded the President about it.
“That college, to describe him like that, probably from N1, who put a phone into the face of the President of the Republic… where is that possible? The idea was to provoke an unwilling reaction of any man; any normal man would react to that. You and I as well; if someone were pushing a phone at us, 90 percent of us would at least pushed the arm (holding the phone). That was the idea to provoke such Vucic’s reflex reaction to make a chaos of that later.”
Nebojsa Krstic, a marketing expert, added: “To push a phone under the President’s nose… He Sovilj) says – have you seen this and pushes the phone; he (Vucic) tells him he doesn’t see well, I don’t have proper glasses, read me the document. He (Sovilj) reads him parts, and he (Vucic) says read me everything so that I know what is that about. He (Sovilj) tells him ‘let’s don’t play around!’ Watch that – you tell Serbia’s President something you can say to your friends when playing football or when drinking beer after the football.”
Anchor agreed, saying: “That is inadmissible.”
Goran Vesic, Belgrade Deputy Mayor: “You could see yesterday, several hours before the President was admitted to VMA… You had N1 reporter Miodrag Sovilj pushing a phone into his (Vucic’s) face and address him with (street language) slang. That’s really a shame.”
However, journalists warn that such an interpretation of the event endangers the safety of reporters and is pressure on media.
Filip Svarm, from the Vreme weekly, said: “Vucic has been used for years to those previously agreed questions. So has the public. In any case, a journalists’ professional work and the insistence for an answer is something these authorities don’t like; and it is dangerous in a way when you accuse N1 reporter that he has sent the President to the hospital; that he has upset him, provoked him, whatever – you’re sending a message that such questions, and the insistence to an answer, are not welcomed.”
Another journalist, Vesna Malisic, from the NIN weekly, added: “The most frightening things are the whole interpretation of that event and an attempt to accuse N1 of almost murdering the President. And that is so dangerous; I think we are entering a risky zone. I think there are smart people who will have to say – stop this, be reasonable, this will all explode because we never know how this can end. We have a bad experience with supporting and encouraging violence.”
Out of many cases of threats to N1 in the last five years, only one perpetrator received a suspended sentence, while the other was sent to a mental hospital.
And, here is the transcript of the conversation between President Vucic and N1 reporter Miodrag Sovilj.
Sovilj: “Have you seen this document?”
Vucic: I can’t see anything. I wear glasses. Read it for me.
Sovilj: Look.
Vucic: Well, you read it to me.
Sovilj: This a document from GIM company which shows that the father of the Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic was in the factory (Krusik) on 2017, to view the weapons as a member of that company. So, not at the Fair…
Vucic” So, he was…
Sovilj: Yes, in 2017. It’s written here…
Vucic: He was.. In what capacity? Read it to me.
Sovilj” It’s written here – as a member of the delegation…
Vucic: Read me what it says… Avoid those tricks, read me what it says
Sovilj: You haven’t seen this?
Vucic: No, I haven’t. Please read it to me.
Sovilj: You haven’t seen…
Vucic No. Please read it to me, I trust you… See how careful and patient I am.
Sovilj reading from his mobile phone: “We ask you to let us in on September 8 for viewing the merchandise for the following individuals (among others) Stefanovic Branko”
Vucic: No, no. Read me the document, please… Read me the document carefully. The whole document, please, for me to hear
Sovilj reading: Business partners from the Imperial Al Jazeera Riyadh from Riyadh and we send you..
Vucic: Which Riyadh now? Which Riyadh…
Sovilj: their passports in the attachment.
Vucic: Which Riyadh?
Sovilj: Was Branko Stefanovic in Krusik in 2017, and in what capacity?
Vucic: How I know that?
Sovilj: You haven’t seen this document?
Vucic How I know that? I’m not his mother or father to see if he was or not. And what if he was? What that proves? What if he was? I don’t understand…
Sovilj: That he was a part of GIM delegation…
Vucic: What it proves… if he has been…
Sovilj: That he was there representing GIM company…
Vucic: What proves that? Read me the whole document; you are hiding something from me… common, read me the whole text…
Sovilj: Mr Vucic, don’t, please. Here you are, read this (shows him the phone)
Vucic: I can’t see… There is an SMS sent to you what to ask me…
Sovilj: You can see that and can’t see the other…
Vucic: This (SMS) is in larger font, the other is in smaller.. read it to me, I trust you…
Sovilj: Mr Vucic lets’ not play around…
Vucic: I’m not playing around, I’m very serious
Sovilj: This is the document from the factory GIM that he was in the factory for viewing the weapons…
Vucic: that he was in the factory… And that is forbidden to be in the factory
Sovilj: Absolutely not. The issue is in what capacity?
Vucic: How I know in what capacity? Where is a crime there? Do you know? Tell me what…
Sovilj: You don’t see a conflict in interest there…
Vucic: Well, the conflict… Look now, dear friends, look, people, what happens always. They always say it’s a big crime, always. And when one corners them, when it’s exposed that they don’t have anything they always start talking about the conflict of interest… And by the way, I’m not laying to you; I can’t see well with these glasses. Those messages coming your way, they are in the larger font. And you see, I won’t say who is sending them and what they tell you to ask me… how fair and honest I’m. And, regarding this, in the end, people always ask is it a conflict of interest. I beg, if I can as the President of the Republic of Serbia since it’s not really clear to me either, I beg of the Anti-Corruption agency to deal with it so that we can establish if there was a conflict of interest or not. So, there is no big crime; it’s about whether we have a conflict of interest. That is extremely important to be established and then that I topple Nebojsa Stefanovic within the party, as, and rightly so, the political parties which dealt with this were saying. OK.