"Vremena" interlocutor Borislav Novaković, a former high-ranking official of the Democratic Party, and today the vice-president of the People's Party, Vuk Jeremic, has been making very serious and well-documented accusations against the city government in Novi Sad for months, pointing to its alleged very serious criminal activities, especially in the field urbanism. In addition to the Novi Sad government, Borislav Novaković often mentions the company "Galens", originally from Republika Srpska, which builds buildings and buildings on almost every corner of Novi Sad, as well as earlier figures known both to the public and to the judicial authorities - Andrej Vučić, the president's brother and Zvonko Veselinović, a "controversial businessman" from Kosovo. Although he raises very serious issues, which could unequivocally be said to fall under the public interest, his performances do not receive adequate public attention, except in exceptional cases.
Because of his statements, with which he seems to have touched a hornet's nest, Borislav Novaković is the target of a very serious, broad campaign of the Serbian Progressive Party and its partners, whose goal is to completely discredit him. Progressives in the campaign remind that Novaković was in custody twice, due to alleged crimes he committed while he was the head of the Institute for City Development. Novaković, however, replies that it is a matter of political persecution, which he and many other officials of the previous government experienced. In the first case, when he was detained, an indictment was never brought against Novaković, and in the second case, where an indictment was brought, it was about an act that was previously the subject of the Misdemeanor Court and which resulted in an acquittal. The progressives, through sponsored videos on social networks and posters that gradually appear on city walls and billboards, constantly remind us of the so-called never resolved. the Thessaloniki affair. To recall, during the vote for the Labor Law in 2001, the opposition claimed that someone voted with Novaković's card, even though he was not in the country that day but in Thessaloniki. From 2000 to 2004, our interlocutor was the president of the Novi Sad City Assembly, and in 2004 he lost the race to Maja Gojković in the direct election for mayor by 500 votes. He is a sociologist by education, and for a time he also worked as an assistant at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad.
In an interview with "Vreme", Novaković points out that Miloš Vučević is only the formal mayor of Novi Sad, and that "the real mayor is Andrej Vučić". "In fact, after he had a fight with Nebojša Stefanović over the distribution of cakes in Belgrade, Andrej Vučić received the entire Vojvodina as a consolation prize for corruption. I'm afraid that Andrej Vučić and I will pass like a rattle in the hands of a child," Novaković points out at the beginning of our conversation.
"WEATHER": You make very serious accusations against the representatives of the Novi Sad government, but also some prominent members of informal power structures. How do you get the information you present to the public and whether and how you checked it?
BORISLAV NOVAKOVIĆ: I get key information through whistleblowers from City Hall. All the documents I presented are legally indisputable. I cannot say the name of that person, because in our country whistleblowers are not encouraged but arrested, as the example of Aleksandar Obradović from "Krušik" showed.
What exactly is the role of Andrej Vučić and Zvonko Veselinović in "jobs" on the territory of Novi Sad and Vojvodina? The president of your party, Vuk Jeremić, stated the other day that the clans of Andrej Vučić and Nebojša Stefanović are located in "frontal conflict" which produces numerous affairs in the public.
Andrej Vučić and Zvonko Veselinović manage key cash flows. There is no significant public procurement or change in regulatory plans that favors the investor without the two giving the last word. "Capo di tutti capi". It is completely devastating that the brother of the state president goes around Vojvodina, racketeering people and collecting envelopes that end up with Aleksandar Vučić. In addition to this corrupt act, Zvonko Veselinović's role is also to discipline the Novi Sad criminal scene and to functionalize and harness the same criminal scene to collect and secure capillary votes. This role of Andrej Vučić and Zvonko Veselinović made Novi Sad no longer look like itself.
There are three important characteristics of the Novi Sad SNS, which significantly differentiate it from its party colleagues throughout the country. First, in Novi Sad there is the highest degree of ideological rigidity and political kerberism. The local government of Novi Sad is not looking at how to outwit but how to harm the Novi Sad opposition. Secondly, nowhere as in Novi Sad is the vote-buying system applied as extensively and intensively. They have already bought around 40 votes in subscriptions. And thirdly, nowhere as in Novi Sad is there such a clear connection between the mayor Miloš Vučević and criminals.
What is she like, wave, the role of the mayor of Novi Sad? On, therefore, if I understood correctly, belongs to the clan of Andrej Vučić?
Miloš Vučević's job is to leave a semblance of legality to all tricksters and criminal acts carried out by him or Andrej Vučić. He is the Forrest Gump of SNS. He runs behind Andrej Vučić and collects the bills that fall out of his pocket. In the current division, he is the most loyal member of the Andrej Vučić clan. He not only does what Andrej Vučić wants, but also meets his wishes. Together with Slobodan Milić Bocar, he formed a criminal association with housing developers. He is not actually acting as the mayor of Novi Sad, but as the president of the city board of the Serbian Progressive Party. He never sends a message to the people of Novi Sad, but to that part of Novi Sad that votes for SNS. There are no polite and civilized analyzes in his sentences, but only insults, contempt and underestimation of any criticism and opposition politicians. In his mandate, which is entering its eighth year, nothing has been done that will later be spoken of as of lasting value.
More than a month ago, you opened an affair "Telep Valley" in which you pointed out that people from the closest environment of the mayor allegedly earned huge amounts of money through various types of abuse during the construction of this settlement. Can you tell the readers? "Times" briefly explain what it is about?
Miloš Vučević's right-hand man and his closest associate is Slobodan Milić, better known in criminal circles as Bocara. Formally, he is an adviser to the mayor, but essentially he is a criminal link between the investor and Miloš Vučević. They are doing classic influence peddling. First, knowing when and in which direction they will change or adopt regulatory plans, they buy agricultural land that will later become construction land and thus acquire huge corrupt profits. Second, since they have an insight into which land the city will expropriate for communal infrastructure, they first buy it cheaply and then sell it to the city expensively. Thirdly, they favor investors by signaling them to buy less attractive locations, with a lower number of floors, and then they change the regulatory plan, raising the number of floors to the sky, thus enabling investors to make enormous profits.
Bocari also had little, so he founded the family company "ES Kapital 2013 doo". That company had an initial capital of 1.000 dinars, and now it is the owner of two large settlements, each of which is worth at least 10 million euros, and numerous locations in the city ready for residential construction. It is a first-rate scandal, in front of which the Novi Sad police and the prosecutor's office are currently silent. So, not only did the construction not stop after our warnings regarding the Telep Valley, but everything metastasized and the private company of Slobodan Milić Bocara is working even harder and more unscrupulously.
They are involved in this affair., as you pointed out, including some companies registered in the so-called. tax havens. Can we talk about citizens' money being taken out of Serbia, or is it just a way to get things done in the easiest way and reduce tax payments??
Miloš Vučević and Slobodan Milić Bocara, through their mutual friend Siniša Mićević, founded a front company through which they do business. The first company, "Capital Light Team", bought land on the Zrenjanin interchange in agreement with Vucevic, so that the city would later buy the land. I proved through the papers that ten plots were purchased. A whistleblower from the City Hall warned me that it was actually more than 40 plots. In order to cover the trail of the money, they establish the company "ILF" based in the Bahamas. Pay attention, that company from the Bahamas has an operating income of 76 euros, and a net profit of 2,6 million euros. We don't need a great tax culture to conclude that it is about money laundering and extracting money from the budget of Novi Sad.
You recently opened up about an affair. "Pupin's Palace" that is, you pointed out that this is an inappropriately large building - whose construction was criticized by experts of all profiles and which cast a dark shadow over the center of Novi Sad - brought to the company "Gallen" huge profit thanks to various "marifetlucima"?
First, the company "Galens" is one of the most significant criminal pillars not only of Novi Sad, but also of the entire government of the Serbian Progressive Party. There is not a single Galens-owned location in the city that has not benefited from it. "Pupin's Palace" was supposed to have a built-up area of 18 square meters, and Vucevic allowed 31 square meters. Based on the difference of 13 thousand extra square meters, and at the price of two thousand euros per square meter, they earned an additional 26 million euros. At the "King's Park" location, where Aleksandar Vučić personally, as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia, removed the protection from the Novi Sad reeds, they raised the number of floors from P+3 floors to P+9 floors and enabled "Galens" to spend an incredible 52 million euros more.
You said recently that Novi Sad is becoming Galens-degree. And indeed, "Gallen, company from Republika Srpska, builds a lot in Novi Sad, in various places. What is the secret of this company's success??
There is no big secret. First, it is a company supported by Aleksandar Vučić himself. Second, Andrej Vučić and Miloš Vučević cooperate operationally with that company and set up deals, committing the criminal offense of "trading through influence". There is literally not a single location that was purchased by the company "Galens" without subsequently changing the regulatory plan and projects in terms of the level of construction and floor space. They are a representative example of investment urbanism - to maximize profit and dehumanize urbanism. Their buildings in the "King's Park" look more like barracks than places that have the contents of a functional and humane life. Therefore, in corrupt collusion with Miloš Vučević, and with the support of the Vučić brothers, they are buying cheap, less attractive locations that will later change the regulatory plan to have a larger volume, built-up area and number of floors. In such circumstances the profits are enormous and it is not difficult to be a "big businessman".
Novi Sad is facing a huge project soon, practically a kind of Novi Sad version of Belgrade on the water. A complex of buildings with as many as 7 buildings will be built in the area of Liman.000 housing units. It seems to be an impressive venture that will bring investors a huge amount of money. In this case too, the name of the company is mentioned "Gallen".
One of the important characteristics and advantages of Novi Sad is the Danube character. Unfortunately, this fact has not been valorized urbanistically. Novi Sad does not live on the Danube, but by or near the Danube. A strategic, decisively important step of any future government is - in urban, construction, architectural, communal and traffic terms - for Novi Sad to reach the Danube. It would be logical for the city government to announce an international competition or an invitational competition to the world's great architects, to design and propose all those urban contents with which Novi Sad can fully emphasize its position on the Danube. Access to the Danube can definitely make Novi Sad either a European city or a Balkan village. I am talking about the move of the Shipyard, Navy, Ribarca, Šodros and Depression. It is practically an investment that, depending on the urban solution, can bring this city around two billion euros. Instead, we have the story of "Galens" again. This company has already bought the Shipyard and Depression. He is concluding negotiations for the purchase of Navy and it is practically Liman 5. Vučević announced this investment in a loud voice stating that it is 500 million euros. Currently, a regulatory plan is being developed for that move where "Galens" bought everything. I call on the public of Novi Sad to be vigilant and in case of what I suspect - I call on the people of Novi Sad to revolt. If the city government, favoring investors, ruins the exit to the Danube as Novi Sad's biggest capacity, irreparable damage will be done.
The mayor of Novi Sad, Miloš Vučević, responded to the accusations that you make on several occasions, who said that they "unfounded" and that you are doing all this because of what is in front of you "there is a criminal procedure because of Bulevar Europa" so your goal is to present yourself as a victim if you are convicted. How do you respond to this statement??
Of course, there is a rigged political process against me. Having come to the head of Novi Sad, the mayor sent a budget inspection to the Institute for Construction (ZIG), where I was previously the director, with the order "to find something for me". They analyzed and "combed" three years of my mandate and found nothing. Under additional pressure from Vučević, they qualified one of my actions as a commercial offense and sent me to the magistrate for misdemeanors. The magistrate issued an acquittal. So, I am now being tried criminally for an offense for which I was acquitted. Aleksandar Vučić's madness is such that he tramples on the basic constitutional principle "ne bis in idem", therefore, no one should be tried twice for the same crime, especially if he was acquitted in the previous procedure. What is happening to me is a legal scandal. The Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg persistently warns our judiciary to apply the principle of "ne bis in idem", and this is at least my personal complaint. Essentially, this is the fault of the Serbian judiciary, which has not brought its legal culture into line with European standards. On top of everything, Aleksandar Vučić and Miloš Vučević comment on court proceedings all the time, "phoning" the judges for the desired outcome of the court proceedings, which is also scandalous.
There are a large number of political parties and public figures in Novi Sad, as well as the media. Forwards, you seem to be one of the few who brings up important and serious topics such as urban crime. Why is that so? Is it fear or something else??
Probably fear, which is shocking and unacceptable to me. I also know Vučić personally as a member of parliament in the mandate period 2000-2004. we often crossed spears in parliament. I personally know and have convinced myself dozens of times that he is a coward. All that pathos, acting, but also the hatred-filled aggression that radiates is a product of the fact that he is a weak personality. On the other hand, the people of Novi Sad, as well as the people of Vojvodina, have a melancholic character, so they are ready to suffer for a long time, but when they get upset, they turn that silence into destructive energy and very emotional reactions. They are ready, sometimes, to shut up and remain silent, but never to shut up. Vučić is entering the last phase of his rule. His promises are as realistic and murderous as Bata Živojinović's sentences in the film Štefica Cvek in the jaws of life, and without wishing to fuel optimism, I think we are very little away from a social explosion and rebellion.
The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina is also in the city government in Novi Sad. Can we do it now?, a few years later, to find out why the progressives accepted LSV into their coalition when they had a comfortable majority to form the city government even without that party?
The reason is certainly not creative, but "lucrative". First, Nenad Canak once remarked that he may not be a generous friend, but he can be a very inconvenient enemy. That is correct. Therefore, Vučić did not need another member of the opposition who could weaken him with harsh and devastating criticism. On the contrary, everything he could buy in the opposition - he bought it. What is regrettable is the fact that LSV threw its thirty-year history and everything it fought for, by coalition with SNS, under its feet. To that extent, the LSV-SNS alliance is not a communal coalition, as they claim, but communal prostitution.
And how do you comment on the latest one "calculation" between the leader of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, Nenad Čanko, and the Prime Minister of Vojvodina, Igor Mirović? They exchanged harsh accusations. It seems somewhat schizophrenic that the leader of the party that is in the city coalition with SNS-om attacks the same party at the provincial level.
Not only is it schizophrenic, but it is politically twisted and perverse. Of course, it is a political show and a staged polemic in order for the LSV to distance itself before the elections and firmly demarcate its electorate, which is against the coalition with the SNS. League voters are mostly well informed and I doubt that they will forgive them for this coalition with the Serbian Progressive Party.
Generally, a part of civil-oriented citizens and political parties that are in the progressive orbit and direct their critical edge exclusively towards the opposition believe that the opposition parties gathered in the Alliance for Serbia - pro-Russian oriented. Is that true?? If not, Where does this rhetoric come from??
It's a cuckoo's egg. What this claim suggests in the subtext is complete nonsense, that Vučić, whatever he may be, with all his flaws and destructive personality, is a dam against Russian influence and a pledge of our path to the EU. I think that as a society and as a country, we are in a serious problem if anyone saw Vučić as a guarantor of our path towards the European Union. Everything Vučić does is the opposite of that. The optical illusion arises because in our country "citizens" are mostly and predominantly left-wing, and it is difficult for them to admit that it is possible to be in the center or right-center, while inheriting European values and directing the country in the direction of the European family of peoples. On the contrary, I do not see anything pro-Russian, and especially anti-European, in the political orientation and behavior of the Alliance for Serbia. Due to circumstances, the common denominator of all the parties of the Alliance for Serbia, regardless of program diversity, is to politically civilize the country. That is why the topics of media freedom, democracy and human rights dominate, which may leave a false impression that we do not insist enough on Serbia's European path. There is no doubt that Serbia's path towards the European Union is the only correct one and there is no alternative.
"WEATHER": How do you comment on the criminal complaint filed by Miloš Vučević against Andrej and Aleksandar Vučić in the case "Jovanjica"?
BORISLAV NOVAKOVIĆ: The law states that whoever "reports a specific person to have committed a criminal offense for which he is being prosecuted ex officio, and knows that that person is not the perpetrator of that offense, shall be punished with imprisonment from three months to three years." Every orderly state rests on laws and institutions. This is contempt for the legal system and a mockery of justice. After this, only two things are logical: either Miloš Vučević will end up in prison for false reporting or Aleksandar and Andrej Vučić for producing marijuana, but that will obviously not happen because this gesture has two meanings. First, that the prosecutor's office closes the case with an express "investigation" and thus sends a message to the public that the Vučić brothers are innocent and, second, that by concluding the investigation, you prevent and thwart the possibility that some other government will open these cases.
