Research Director of the Belgrade Center for Security Policy Predrag Petrović says in an interview for "Vreme" that we are at local elections on Sunday could see the coordinated action of the "men in blue" and "men in black", i.e. police and parapolice structures that function as a "united loyalist apparatus of the regime".
"While the 'blacks' carried out violence, the 'blues' provided them with security and provided operational space. It is now a well-established and well-oiled mechanism. Citizens can hardly count on the police, unless they are part of the regime's structures," says Petrović.
Photo: Tanjug / Amir HamzagićConflict in Kula
The role of the UKP
He believes that these are patterns that we could notice before, but that the novelty is the open involvement of the Criminal Police Directorate (UKP) in the election context, through raids on the premises of the observation mission and an opposition party.
"But that was to be expected because a super-loyalist was recently appointed as the head of the UKP, a man planned for such and similar actions," says Petrović.
However, he believes that the local elections held on March 29 showed that it is possible to defeat the regime with a high turnout, a more unified performance of the opposition and the citizens' willingness to resolutely defend their electoral will.
"Although the SNS retained power in ten places, in several of them the result was significantly weaker and more uncertain than before, despite the fact that it appeared together with all satellite parties. Such a trend suggests that in larger cities the regime bloc would have a hard time winning a majority, under the condition of mass mobilization of voters and a consolidated opposition front," says Petrović for the "Vremena" portal.
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