"Cobras" are stalking students: Scattering Vučić Aleksandar

Entered into the role of the self-proclaimed Commander-in-Chief of the Army, the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić he said twice on live television that when students protested in front of the building where he was holding a press conference, he could have, if he had wanted to, sent members of his security from the Special Intentions Military Police "Cobra" to remove them, but that it "didn't occur to him".

"Do you think it occurred to me to go out with the 'Cobras', to break through them, to do anything, and we could have done it in seven or eight seconds. Not even for a second," he said to the "young people of the SNS", some of whom were over 40 years old, at the forum in the Sava Center "Future, not the past" held on Wednesday.

Special purpose military police battalion "Cobra" photo: Jovo Mamula MC Defense.

He repeated what he said a few days ago during a TV appearance: "If I were to go out and insult them, if I were to go out and fight, to bring out the 'Cobras' to scatter them all, it wouldn't take six or seven seconds, no one would care to mind".

He extended the "scatter" time by one second.

What is indicative here, except that he threatens the students with "Cobras": he puts himself at the head of "Cobras", because he speaks in the plural, "to break them", to "scatter them", in the style of the unrealized fan hooligan from his youth who crouches in him . Apparently, he got used to the role of "commander-in-chief" and thought that he could command an army unit, thus breaking all the rules.

What are Cobras?

"Cobras" are an Army unit that has an organized system of subordination that the president of the state does not fit into. The detachment is subordinated exclusively to the Chief of the General Staff and Vučić does not make any decisions there. If Serbia was an organized country, he would not even be able to order the engagement of "Cobra" to his head of security.

As far as technical details are concerned - "Cobras" are not responsible for responding outside the building and the fenced area around it, that is the job of the police.

Photo: Tanjug/Jadranka Ilić

On this occasion, Vučić told another lie, that the participants of the protest "broke through the restrictive space and entered it". That this was simply not true could be seen by all who were there, unless perhaps he also considered the park, the public area, a forbidden zone, which, as it began, could soon happen.

In a Serbia like this, everything is possible. Vučić considers this unit his private guard, he thinks he can use it as a puppet, he plays with its members like a child with Lego blocks. The fact that he appointed his head of security, Darko Đošić, who quickly advanced to the rank of colonel, shows that this is so.

In such a situation, it is not surprising that he thinks he could order his security to "break up" the protest. And he was more than obviously annoyed whistling and chanting during the recent "address to the nation" from Andrić's wreath, it was also visible in his facial expressions and reactions. Pink and RTS television tried in vain to silence the tone from outside, the "nation" heard the whistles and chanting of the students.

When are the "Cobras" allowed to react?

The army's internal rule says that "Cobras" can react if a person or object they are protecting is directly threatened, which did not happen in this case - neither did anyone attack Vučić, nor the building of the New Palace, which is the official name of the object where he is "sitting" , and which he likes to call "the Presidency". So Vučić had no reason to order the "Cobras" to break up the meeting, because that would violate his powers and responsibilities.

And the question is whether they would even want to do it without the order of an official.

The police who secured the protest did not detain anyone, which means that no one "ran into" the restrictive area. In some earlier demonstrations, activist Srđan Marković jumped over the fence around the building, trying to leave Vučić's protest demands on the stairs. As soon as he jumped, the members of the "Cobra" in plainclothes caught him, three of them, and began to move him backwards, without applying any special force. And then the fourth appeared, ran up and punched the helpless, overpowered man of about sixty kilos, who is not resisting, in the head several times.

And such are the "military elite", unfortunately.

Abuse of authority

When it comes to Vučić's visits to public places, members of his security are often arrogant, denying the passage of citizens long before he even arrives, even though the police are responsible for that.

"Cobras" protect various officials, so the question arises whether each of them, when it comes to his mind, could order them to "smash" someone. For example, the current Minister of Defense, and all the previous ones, let's say Vulin, if someone protests against him because of his "aunt's" money for an apartment.

In any case, if your last name is Vučić, either Aleksandar or Andrej, you order the security to act against the regulations, as the president's brother ordered the "Cobras" from the escort (illegally assigned) to pass the gendarme cordon during a Pride Parade - and they passed how did they go The gendarmes are not students, and even though they did their job and carried out their orders, they "drank" their dismissal, and the commander of the Nis detachment, who stood up for them because they were doing their job, was promptly retired the next day.