Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-second-m ... 97103.html
At least eight people were killed and 14 wounded in a mass shooting that took place near Belgrade, the second such incident in Serbia in less than two days, officials said on May 5, as President Aleksandar Vucic proposed measures that he said amounted to "a practical disarmament" of Serbian civilians.
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/05/11742353 ... -in-serbia
Vucic vowed to the nation in an address that the suspect "will never again see the light of the day." He referred to the attack as an act of terror and announced a new raft of gun-control measures, including a moratorium on new permits for firearms, as well as an increase in the number of police.

"We will disarm Serbia," Vucic promised, saying the government would outline the new rules later on Friday.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65490418.amp
President Aleksander Vucic pledged the "practical disarmament" of the country, as he announced a list of new security measures intended to improve gun control on Friday morning.

Kragujevac, is where Zastava Arms is located.
https://www.zastava-arms.rs/en/profile/

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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SubRosa wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:18 pm This sadness is fast turning into "This is why we can't have nice things".
Can’t say much for Serbia since there’s no constitutional protection on arms as far as I know. For us emotional appeal is not a valid reason to restrict or suspend a constitutional right.
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Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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sikacz wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:25 pm
SubRosa wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:18 pm This sadness is fast turning into "This is why we can't have nice things".
Can’t say much for Serbia since there’s no constitutional protection on arms as far as I know. For us emotional appeal is not a valid reason to restrict or suspend a constitutional right.
Yes, to include those rights of minorities, members of the LGBTQ community, women, children, voters, non 'christians'.......

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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From Foreign Policy:
President Vucic is a reformed ultranationalist who served as Slobodan Milosevic’s minister of information in the final days of the Yugoslav wars, a role that involved fining journalists who criticized the regime and banning unfriendly TV networks. In recent years, he has presided over a period of alarming democratic backsliding. His ruling center-right Serbian Progressive Party enjoys a complete stranglehold on Serbia’s government, judiciary, and security services, and he has neutered the local media to such an extent that only a handful of outlets have dared to publicize the substantial allegations of corruption, cronyism, and voter intimidation that have plagued his time in office.

Over the last six years, Vucic has established what could best be described as a soft autocracy: On the surface, Serbia is still a democratic society with nominally free elections and a political opposition, where dissenting voices are able to criticize the ruling party without fear of mysteriously disappearing in the night. But Vucic’s control over Serbia’s centers of power is so complete and the democratic process is so skewed in his favor that dissent poses no threat to his rule. His political opponents are free to run against him, but they have few means to make their voices heard. The country’s institutions are so totally controlled by Vucic’s allies that there is nothing to stop him from subverting democratic norms. This is most evident in the media.

Vucic has managed to strangle the press by taking control of its main income stream: advertising. Most of the country’s advertising agencies are owned by a handful of media tycoons loyal to Vucic, who, rather than basing publicity budgets on market factors, buy advertising space from TV stations and newspapers that give the president favorable coverage and withhold funds from those that criticize him. Media outlets have another incentive to toe a pro-government line: RTV Pink, the country’s biggest private broadcaster, received at least 7 million euros in government loans between 2014 and 2016.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/09/ho ... -autocrat/

It appears to be a one party state, Vucic will get what he wants. A one party state disarming the populace, we've seen that before.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia, where a schoolboy opened fire on his classmates on Wednesday, has an entrenched gun culture, especially in rural areas, but also strict gun control laws.

The entire western Balkans are awash with hundreds of thousands of illegal weapons following 1990s wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo where ethnic Serbs fought other ethnic groups which together made up former federal Yugoslavia.

The then-Serbian authorities promoted nationalist policies and used media outlets to present war criminals and underworld figures as heroes and defenders of Serb lands. Dozens of people were killed in gangland-style shootouts in the 1990s.

Tens of thousands of illegal firearms have since been handed over or registered in amnesties. But Serbia still ranks third behind the United States and Yemen with an estimated 39 firearms per 100 people, along with its former federal partner Montenegro, according to the 2018 Small Arms Survey.

Hunting is widespread with over 78,000 of Serbia's 6.6 million people having licensed hunting weapons, and many families have had guns in their households for generations.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fa ... r-AA1aGxo9
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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highdesert wrote: Sat May 06, 2023 10:54 am From Foreign Policy:
President Vucic is a reformed ultranationalist who served as Slobodan Milosevic’s minister of information in the final days of the Yugoslav wars, a role that involved fining journalists who criticized the regime and banning unfriendly TV networks. In recent years, he has presided over a period of alarming democratic backsliding. His ruling center-right Serbian Progressive Party enjoys a complete stranglehold on Serbia’s government, judiciary, and security services, and he has neutered the local media to such an extent that only a handful of outlets have dared to publicize the substantial allegations of corruption, cronyism, and voter intimidation that have plagued his time in office.

Over the last six years, Vucic has established what could best be described as a soft autocracy: On the surface, Serbia is still a democratic society with nominally free elections and a political opposition, where dissenting voices are able to criticize the ruling party without fear of mysteriously disappearing in the night. But Vucic’s control over Serbia’s centers of power is so complete and the democratic process is so skewed in his favor that dissent poses no threat to his rule. His political opponents are free to run against him, but they have few means to make their voices heard. The country’s institutions are so totally controlled by Vucic’s allies that there is nothing to stop him from subverting democratic norms. This is most evident in the media.

Vucic has managed to strangle the press by taking control of its main income stream: advertising. Most of the country’s advertising agencies are owned by a handful of media tycoons loyal to Vucic, who, rather than basing publicity budgets on market factors, buy advertising space from TV stations and newspapers that give the president favorable coverage and withhold funds from those that criticize him. Media outlets have another incentive to toe a pro-government line: RTV Pink, the country’s biggest private broadcaster, received at least 7 million euros in government loans between 2014 and 2016.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/09/ho ... -autocrat/

It appears to be a one party state, Vucic will get what he wants. A one party state disarming the populace, we've seen that before.
Sort of like California! LoL 😂.
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Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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sikacz wrote: Sat May 06, 2023 4:54 pm
highdesert wrote: Sat May 06, 2023 10:54 am From Foreign Policy:
President Vucic is a reformed ultranationalist who served as Slobodan Milosevic’s minister of information in the final days of the Yugoslav wars, a role that involved fining journalists who criticized the regime and banning unfriendly TV networks. In recent years, he has presided over a period of alarming democratic backsliding. His ruling center-right Serbian Progressive Party enjoys a complete stranglehold on Serbia’s government, judiciary, and security services, and he has neutered the local media to such an extent that only a handful of outlets have dared to publicize the substantial allegations of corruption, cronyism, and voter intimidation that have plagued his time in office.

Over the last six years, Vucic has established what could best be described as a soft autocracy: On the surface, Serbia is still a democratic society with nominally free elections and a political opposition, where dissenting voices are able to criticize the ruling party without fear of mysteriously disappearing in the night. But Vucic’s control over Serbia’s centers of power is so complete and the democratic process is so skewed in his favor that dissent poses no threat to his rule. His political opponents are free to run against him, but they have few means to make their voices heard. The country’s institutions are so totally controlled by Vucic’s allies that there is nothing to stop him from subverting democratic norms. This is most evident in the media.

Vucic has managed to strangle the press by taking control of its main income stream: advertising. Most of the country’s advertising agencies are owned by a handful of media tycoons loyal to Vucic, who, rather than basing publicity budgets on market factors, buy advertising space from TV stations and newspapers that give the president favorable coverage and withhold funds from those that criticize him. Media outlets have another incentive to toe a pro-government line: RTV Pink, the country’s biggest private broadcaster, received at least 7 million euros in government loans between 2014 and 2016.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/09/ho ... -autocrat/

It appears to be a one party state, Vucic will get what he wants. A one party state disarming the populace, we've seen that before.
Sort of like California! LoL 😂.
Yup exactly. The shootings in Serbia were tragic. And yes the Balkan countries have a lot of firearms left from the breakup of Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Serbia), but European borders are porous. I question Vucic's motives.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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Now Vucic is mobilizing the army against a supposed threat to Serbs in Kosovo. Take the guns and mobilize the army against a minority group that’s a “perceived threat” where have we seen that tactic play out before? The guy is a real fascist …

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/s ... 023-05-26/


Serbia orders army to Kosovo border after protest clashes
By Fatos Bytyci
May 26, 20239:53 AM EDTUpdated an hour ago

ZVECAN, Kosovo, May 26 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic placed the country's army on full combat alert and ordered its units to move closer to the border with Kosovo on Friday, after protesters and police clashed in a majority Serb town in Kosovo.

"An urgent movement (of troops) to the Kosovo border has been ordered," defence minister Milos Vucevic said in a live TV broadcast. "It is clear that the terror against the Serb community in Kosovo is happening," he said.

Police and protesters clashed in the town of Zvecan in Kosovo after a crowd gathered in front of the municipality building, trying to prevent a newly-elected ethnic Albanian mayor from entering his office. Police fired tear gas to disperse protestors.

A police car was set ablaze, a Reuters reporter said.

Four people have been injured in the clashes, the Tanjug news agency reported. It also said several vehicles from the NATO peacekeeping mission to Kosovo arrived in the centre of Zvecan.

ELECTION BOYCOTT
The protests follow widely-boycotted local elections.

Some 50,000 Serbs living in four north Kosovo municipalities, including Zvecan, shunned the April 23 vote in protest that their demands for more autonomy had not been met - a new setback for a March peace deal between Kosovo and Serbia.

The election turnout was 3.47% and local Serbs said they would not work with the new mayors in the four municipalities - all from ethnic Albanian parties - because they do not represent them.

Earlier, police in the Kosovan capital of Pristina issued a statement saying that they were assisting the newly-elected mayors so they could enter municipal offices in the four northern municipalities.

The mayor in Zvecan was successfully escorted into his office, a Reuters reporter heard on a police radio.

Serbs in Kosovo's northern region do not accept Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, almost a decade after the end of a war there, and still see Belgrade as their capital.

Ethnic Albanians form more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, with Serbs only the majority in the northern region.

The Western-backed plan verbally agreed to by the Kosovo and Serbian governments in March aimed to defuse tensions by granting local Serbs more autonomy, with the government in Pristina retaining ultimate authority.

Reporting by Reuters TV, Fatos Bytyci, Aleksandar Vasovic and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: Serbian president pledges national

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INVICTVS138 wrote: Fri May 26, 2023 10:49 am Now Vucic is mobilizing the army against a supposed threat to Serbs in Kosovo. Take the guns and mobilize the army against a minority group that’s a “perceived threat” where have we seen that tactic play out before? The guy is a real fascist …

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/s ... 023-05-26/


Serbia orders army to Kosovo border after protest clashes
By Fatos Bytyci
May 26, 20239:53 AM EDTUpdated an hour ago

ZVECAN, Kosovo, May 26 (Reuters) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic placed the country's army on full combat alert and ordered its units to move closer to the border with Kosovo on Friday, after protesters and police clashed in a majority Serb town in Kosovo.

"An urgent movement (of troops) to the Kosovo border has been ordered," defence minister Milos Vucevic said in a live TV broadcast. "It is clear that the terror against the Serb community in Kosovo is happening," he said.

Police and protesters clashed in the town of Zvecan in Kosovo after a crowd gathered in front of the municipality building, trying to prevent a newly-elected ethnic Albanian mayor from entering his office. Police fired tear gas to disperse protestors.

A police car was set ablaze, a Reuters reporter said.

Four people have been injured in the clashes, the Tanjug news agency reported. It also said several vehicles from the NATO peacekeeping mission to Kosovo arrived in the centre of Zvecan.

ELECTION BOYCOTT
The protests follow widely-boycotted local elections.

Some 50,000 Serbs living in four north Kosovo municipalities, including Zvecan, shunned the April 23 vote in protest that their demands for more autonomy had not been met - a new setback for a March peace deal between Kosovo and Serbia.

The election turnout was 3.47% and local Serbs said they would not work with the new mayors in the four municipalities - all from ethnic Albanian parties - because they do not represent them.

Earlier, police in the Kosovan capital of Pristina issued a statement saying that they were assisting the newly-elected mayors so they could enter municipal offices in the four northern municipalities.

The mayor in Zvecan was successfully escorted into his office, a Reuters reporter heard on a police radio.

Serbs in Kosovo's northern region do not accept Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia, almost a decade after the end of a war there, and still see Belgrade as their capital.

Ethnic Albanians form more than 90% of the population in Kosovo, with Serbs only the majority in the northern region.

The Western-backed plan verbally agreed to by the Kosovo and Serbian governments in March aimed to defuse tensions by granting local Serbs more autonomy, with the government in Pristina retaining ultimate authority.

Reporting by Reuters TV, Fatos Bytyci, Aleksandar Vasovic and Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I don't trust Vucic. Kosovo was a province of Serbia and it looks like it's a play by him to reunite at least the northern part with Serbia. Perhaps Vucic has delusions of a new Yugoslavia which Serbia would again dominate, that would set off another Balkan war.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Serbian president pledges national

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sikacz wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 8:07 pm
INVICTVS138 wrote: Fri May 05, 2023 6:38 pm Yikes. I’m a bit fan of zastava arms.

This is why the second is so important. A sitting politician can just wish away our arms because it’s politically expedient.


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Agree.
Yet 'some' are OK with a sitting politician doing away with other 'rights'...as long as they yell about the 2A...Curious.

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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sikacz wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 4:13 am The problem with borders and ethnic groups are a never ending issue in Europe and the world. There was never a way to easily divide out Yugoslavia.
It was another communist created state like the USSR, Tito the communist leader forced disparate nationalities to form a union under the iron fist of the communist party. Papering over differences just keeps them suppressed. Tito died in 1980 and communism was on it's way out to be replaced by nationalism. The atrocities in the Yugoslav war were some of the worst we've seen.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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highdesert wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 8:59 am
sikacz wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 4:13 am The problem with borders and ethnic groups are a never ending issue in Europe and the world. There was never a way to easily divide out Yugoslavia.
It was another communist created state like the USSR, Tito the communist leader forced disparate nationalities to form a union under the iron fist of the communist party. Papering over differences just keeps them suppressed. Tito died in 1980 and communism was on it's way out to be replaced by nationalism. The atrocities in the Yugoslav war were some of the worst we've seen.
Unfortunately most modern countries throughout the world have been in some way artificially put together, forcing different groups with sometimes old animosities to unite.
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Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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sikacz wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 9:12 am
highdesert wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 8:59 am
sikacz wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 4:13 am The problem with borders and ethnic groups are a never ending issue in Europe and the world. There was never a way to easily divide out Yugoslavia.
It was another communist created state like the USSR, Tito the communist leader forced disparate nationalities to form a union under the iron fist of the communist party. Papering over differences just keeps them suppressed. Tito died in 1980 and communism was on it's way out to be replaced by nationalism. The atrocities in the Yugoslav war were some of the worst we've seen.
Unfortunately most modern countries throughout the world have been in some way artificially put together, forcing different groups with sometimes old animosities to unite.
Yup, many areas of Europe have changed sides over the centuries. Belgium is an artificial state with a Dutch speaking north and a French speaking south. The colonial powers did the same thing to Africa which is the cause of many of the modern conflicts. Same in the Middle East where Iraq is an artificial country created after WWI. The seat of the EU parliament is Strasbourg, France an area fought over by France and Germany. The Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia gave Hitler a justification for invading that country.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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highdesert wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 9:34 am
sikacz wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 9:12 am
highdesert wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 8:59 am
sikacz wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 4:13 am The problem with borders and ethnic groups are a never ending issue in Europe and the world. There was never a way to easily divide out Yugoslavia.
It was another communist created state like the USSR, Tito the communist leader forced disparate nationalities to form a union under the iron fist of the communist party. Papering over differences just keeps them suppressed. Tito died in 1980 and communism was on it's way out to be replaced by nationalism. The atrocities in the Yugoslav war were some of the worst we've seen.
Unfortunately most modern countries throughout the world have been in some way artificially put together, forcing different groups with sometimes old animosities to unite.
Yup, many areas of Europe have changed sides over the centuries. Belgium is an artificial state with a Dutch speaking north and a French speaking south. The colonial powers did the same thing to Africa which is the cause of many of the modern conflicts. Same in the Middle East where Iraq is an artificial country created after WWI. The seat of the EU parliament is Strasbourg, France an area fought over by France and Germany. The Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia gave Hitler a justification for invading that country.
Yup, same for just about every country, UK, the ones you named, same for Norway, Sweden, Russia, Finland, just about every country I can think of has some regions that were home to some ethnic group other than the majority ethnic group. There’s no perfect solution, but continuing wars based on ethnic homelands isn’t the solution either or drawing borders based on those areas either. Even within those areas there are mixed areas and counter claims. Formation of countries was no doubt a great tool for advancing human development, but it wasn’t a perfect tool.
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Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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Vucic stepped down as leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), not as president of Serbia. He could be behind the anti-gun/anti-government protests going on in Serbia.
Vucic became president of the SNS in 2012, replacing Tomislav Nikolic who held the post since 2008 when the party was formed as an offshoot of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party.
A nationalist firebrand during the wars in the 1990s, Vucic later embraced pro-European policies, proclaiming Serbia's membership in the European Union its strategic goal. He also maintains close ties with Russia and China.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/se ... 023-05-27/

Serbia isn't an EU or a NATO member. Once a nationalist always a nationalist.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Serbian president pledges national "practical disarmament" following 2 shootings

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highdesert wrote: Sun May 28, 2023 11:23 am Vucic stepped down as leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), not as president of Serbia. He could be behind the anti-gun/anti-government protests going on in Serbia.
Vucic became president of the SNS in 2012, replacing Tomislav Nikolic who held the post since 2008 when the party was formed as an offshoot of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party.
A nationalist firebrand during the wars in the 1990s, Vucic later embraced pro-European policies, proclaiming Serbia's membership in the European Union its strategic goal. He also maintains close ties with Russia and China.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/se ... 023-05-27/

Serbia isn't an EU or a NATO member. Once a nationalist always a nationalist.
Yes. His goals seem clear enough.
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