Vucic on student demands: I am willing to grant pardon to those who want it

aleksandar vučić — TANJUG/MARKO ÐOKOVIĆ | TANJUG/MARKO ÐOKOVIĆ

Addressing the student demands on Monday evening, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he was willing to pardon those who want to avoid criminal prosecution.

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Commenting on the demands, which include the dismissal of charges against those arrested and detained during protests, Vucic said: “Thirteen students and professors have been prosecuted, and a decision to pardon all 13 is planned. I have never made a decision on pardoning anyone, that’s always risky, and you can’t take justice into your own hands. This opens a Pandora’s box. We waited for the prosecutor’s office to dismiss some of the criminal charges, as there is reasonable suspicion they committed crimes. If there is no other solution, I am ready to sign a pardon for those who want it, in accordance with the law. I will do this by Wednesday at the latest.”

In a public address from the Palace of Serbia, the president said that public prosecutors’ offices have initiated criminal proceedings against 37 people for attacks on students and professors, noting that this fulfills the students’ second demand.

In addition, Vucic said that all documents related to the recent reconstruction of the Novi Sad main train station have been released. In November last year, a concrete canopy at the train station collapsed, killing fifteen people and severely injuring two.

“The Ministry has released relevant documentation, especially what they believed is related to the suspected crimes. Over 13,000 documents are available on the government website... Everything we had has been provided. This is a lesson for us as well - no one should think it is possible for someone to hide a document or do something partially. Transparency is essential,” he said.

Regarding the documentation on contracts with contractors and subcontractors, Vucic said that none of them were classified, and he didn’t understand why the government hadn’t released them sooner.

He mentioned that he believes there were a total of 82 subcontractors involved in the reconstruction, and that the contracts would be made public by Tuesday, explaining that they hadn’t been released because they were not connected to the criminal proceedings regarding the canopy collapse, except possibly for other criminal acts.

“Police raided all subcontractors and, in accordance with the law, seized all the documentation,” the president said.

Vucic also called for an “urgent and major” Serbian Government reshuffle, and said he expects that more than 50 percent of the current ministers will be replaced. He noted that the difficult times have shown which government members were ready to fight and work, and which were not.

Teme