Serbia’s opposition united, doubts regime’s intentions, leader says

Speaking about possible opposition’s boycott of the general election next spring, Veselinovic, one of the leaders of the Alliance for Serbia (SzS), said they all had the same opinion which didn’t change.

“Since the adoption of a common platform last December and the signing of the Agreement with People, SzS said it would do everything to get free and fair elections.

But if the regime wouldn’t accept that, we would boycott the vote. Or we would not recognise it and consider it as the violation of the Constitutional order because they would be organised outside the country’s Constitutional norms, Veselinovic said.

The main opposition demands which are also the requests of the organisers of #1 in 5 million anti-government civil protests that have been going one across Serbia weekly since last November include free media and free and fair election's rules.

Commenting on a public outcry after the opposition accepted that the first round table discussion with the regime’s representatives be held behind closed doors, he denied the opposition’s guilt.

“I don’t see our goof. But we can accept the suggestion to condition our participation in the talks with them opened to media,” Veselinovic said.

He added the opposition was for discussion and had been asking for a dialogue.

Reacting to accusations that the opposition accepted to talk to the representative of the authorities who did not have real power, Veselinovic said that “in this kind of conflict you cannot choose who you will talk to.”

However, after the regime’s statement following the discussion, he said he believed “they (the authorities) don’t intend to make any agreement which would take key opposition’s demand into account.”