Military analyst Aleksandar Radić that the investigation of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade is about the alleged use "sound cannon" during the protest on March 15, it had a propaganda function from the very beginning, as well as the fact that the publication of the prosecution's conclusions coincides with the election campaign.
Radić, whom VJT in its statement marked as one of the actors who are suspected of having participated in the spread of claims about the use of a "sound cannon", he assessed for "Danas" that the fact that the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić pre-announced publication of the prosecution's statement is a particularly important circumstance.
"The fact that the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, announces the statement of the prosecution speaks for itself. Once again, the incompetent have information about what a state body will do on Sunday morning. Doesn't it seem a little unusual to you that on one, should be calm, week in September, civil servants are working and publishing a statement? And all in a propaganda tone," Radić told Danas.
Radić considers the part of the announcement that talks about "PSY OPS", i.e. psychological operations, to be particularly controversial. VJT stated that the analysis of his mobile phone established the intention to influence public opinion by applying that concept.
Death to fascism and freedom to the people, Comrade Radić
Radić, however, explains that he used the term "PSY OPS" for years in a joking context in a Viber group with friends, among whom were journalists. The group, he said, served to exchange information on military topics around the world, including the acquisition of tanks, military events and the presentation of new military equipment.
According to his interpretation, during the examination of the phones, the prosecution used the name of that group in order to create the impression that there was an organized structure behind the assertions about the events of March 15. Radić believes that such an interpretation is part of the effort to attribute organization to the whole case.
A problem in the chronology of communications
He also sees a problem in the chronology of the communications referred to by the prosecution. As he claims, a large part of the communication was created only after the event of March 15, which is why, in his opinion, it cannot be proof that there was organized action before the event itself.
Radić reminded that VJT initiated proceedings against him due to suspicion of an attempt to overthrow the constitutional order, which in his opinion implies the existence of a certain organization. However, he believes that the prosecution presented to the public the mostly changed content of the communications that were conducted after the disputed event. Therefore, as he states, the chronology of events contradicts the construction that the prosecution is trying to put forward, ironically adding that such an interpretation would imply that he could have known future events in advance.
According to Radić, the prosecution is trying to find an organization that could be presented as responsible for the entire case, and then attribute to it a certain connection with abroad. He believes that, since such a construction has not been proven, VJT resorts to, as he assessed, "the most brutal propaganda" and procrastination.
Stalin from Andrić's wreath
Radić also questioned the prosecution's conclusion, according to which the citizens' panic reaction began after the guards took off their vests and began to retreat. He particularly questioned the reliance on the statements of members of state structures who were at the protest that day.
He assessed that there are state structures that, in his view, turned against their own citizens and carried out controversial tasks, while the testimonies also mention persons for whom it is not clear that they were police officers. That is why Radić believes that the statements of the alleged police officers who appeared in the investigation cannot be uncritically trusted, because, as he claims, it is possible that they were acting on orders.
Students have been accused of allegedly simulating events before
Commenting on the VJT's claim that the chain movement of citizens began after the activation of the protocol for the withdrawal of the guards, Radić said that the students had previously been accused of allegedly simulating the event. According to him, even now they are trying to find an organized structure that could be assigned responsibility for what happened.
He claims that the prosecution failed to prove the connections between the student organization, the media and him, which would indicate the joint creation of the scenario. That is why, as he says, it is not clear to him what kind of message the system is trying to send now, except to shift the responsibility for the events from the state structures.
Radić also disputed VJT's allegations that the audio and video recordings on which a specific "thud" can be heard were subsequently changed. According to his opinion, such a conclusion calls into question numerous testimonies of citizens who spoke about what they experienced during the March 15 protest.
He believes that the statements of citizens who have come forward publicly and whose identities are known are thereby being suppressed in favor of the testimony of persons whose identities have not been published, and who are claimed to have been engaged in secret tasks. Radić sees this as one of the key problems in the way the prosecution explains its conclusions.
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