Nova editor says Serbian authorities determined to destroy SBB

Veselin Simonović
Zoran Lončarević/Nova.rs

Nova.rs portal editor in chief Veselin Simonovic wrote in his latest column that the Serbian authorities seem to be determined to use every possible resource to destroy United Group and the SBB cable services company.

“The authorities seem to be firmly determined to use all their resources, from state companies, foreign tycoons who want to use shortcuts to get new deals to old and new media whose ownership is hard to determine in order to destroy United Group and SBB which is co-owned by Dragan Solak. A target has been drawn on his head every day recently not because those companies are operating illegaly in Seria (if there was anything illegal the authorities would have shut them down already) but only because United Group owns N1 TV, Nova S, the Nova.rs and rs.n1info.com portals and because it is developing other media projects. The company’s sin is that it has given its journalists and editors the freedom to do their job professionally,” Simonovic said.

“Serbia is ruled by organized criminal authorities who are doing serious damage in the region as well. That criminal organization has been plundering Serbia shamelessly and brazenly for the past nine years and as one of their former coalition partners and former cabinet minister put it: “They yellows (Democratic Party) stole but these people are plundering”. They are dressing pickpockets, smugglers and trash in expensive suits and portarying them as businessmen. Drug dealers and killers have become their allies in dealing with anyone who doesn’t share their views and who has fallen foul of them in any way and some have been promoted to respectable business people enjoying the highest level of protection. There is no bigger deal than when they are paving roads, building or trading… People with no honor who falsely present themselves as owners of media outlets, editors and journalists, throwing mud around and drawing targets on the head of anyone who tackles the organized crime authorities.

“Anyone who had dealings with the organized criminal organization got rich overnight. They include ministers, party officials and their families without a single year’s employment. People who crossed over out of interest to save their illegally acquired property and increased the wealth of the semi-educated new elite with their “expert” services. They are so encouraged by their “glorious” election victories and partly ruined or corrupted opposition and corrupted media that there is no tender or public procurement that is clean.

“The citizens of Serbia never learned what the arrangement was with Air Serbia (even when the deal fell through at our expense), who the covert owners of Belgrade Waterfront are and what the contract is and whether we will every find out about any deal in Belgrade, who got what and how much (monuments are the lowest expense), under what conditions and how much we pay for roads in Serbia and whose money is used to buy media and TV stations… The list of similar corrupt affairs would be long so suffice it to say that the authorities have made the public procurement system meaningless.

“Does it make any sense to ask the authorities who the fools were who tore down buildings in Savamala, who robbed Krusik, which ministers and ranking officials bought their diplomas, who has doctorates as decorations after barely graduating from elementary school, whose brothers get the most lucrative deals with the state… This list would also be very long and this is enough for now.

“One thing that they should be asked every day is: Who killed (Kosovo Serb opposition leader) Oliver Ivanovic? High ranking state officials and their journalist scum drew targets on his head every day and they are doing the same to many people today, from artists who dare criticize, to opposition leaders, editors and journalists who ask questions and investigate. Whatever you ask these authorities, whatever I wrote earlier, and they’ll say that you are being paid by (opposition leader Dragan) Djilas and Solak, that they stole a pile of money, while the authorities are struggling and building. Djilas is still an opposition leader and the authorities have not indicted him for anything nine years after they came to power. Personally I would say to them: You privatized the entire state apparatus, so judge him or shut up.

Nova.rs and N1 TV are part of United Group