Vucic Vows to Fight On: “I Will Not Leave Serbia”

Aleksandar Vucic has vowed to fight “to his last breath” against those he says are trying to destroy Serbia. In his first address to Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) activists since his party’s election defeat, the former president accused the new authorities of political persecution, attacks on police officers and journalists, and attempts to silence dissent.

Speaking at a party meeting in Sremska Mitrovica, Vucic, who headed the “United Serbia” electoral list, called on supporters to stand firm against what he described as forces working to undermine the country.

He recalled watching the election results come in on the evening of October 25. Despite the defeat, he said, he had no regrets about what his government had accomplished.

“When I saw the results that evening, I told myself: we did everything, we built so much, we raised wages and pensions, and we changed the face of Serbia. Perhaps you think it is unfair, but God chose this path,” he said.

What mattered most, he continued, was not letting his opponents see how much the result had hurt him.

“I did not want those people in Serbia who wish our country ill, who have spent all this time working to destroy it, to see for even a moment how hard this was for me. I wanted them to see only my smile. What they should see is my determination and courage to fight to my last breath against those who have been destroying our state,” Vucic told the gathering.

Vucic Accuses New Government of Political Persecution

The former president said he was deeply troubled by what he described as a campaign of political repression launched by the new authorities. He claimed that Serbia had not seen anything comparable since the beginning of the century.

As examples, he cited the arrest of eight SNS activists in Nis. According to Vucic, they were detained after arguing with people involved in street protests, whom he accused of violence and blocking roads. He said that, despite the clashes, none of those responsible for the blockades had been punished.

In the town of Ub, another nine SNS activists were arrested following clashes. Vucic said the violence had been started by groups from Lazarevac who arrived armed with clubs and attacked his supporters, who were unarmed. Yet, he claimed, not one of the alleged attackers had even been questioned.

Vucic also turned his attention to the police, saying officers were facing criminal proceedings despite a lack of evidence. He argued that they had been singled out simply because they refused to support the student movement and the new authorities.

“These are some of the best police officers in Serbia. And now, believe it or not, let me tell you something: there are still honest people who keep us informed. Prosecutors themselves are complaining. They say: ‘I cannot ask for these officers to be arrested. We have no evidence at all against five of them,’” he said.

He went on to claim that prosecutors had been given binding instructions to pursue police officers who had not sided with the student movement.

Those targeted, he insisted, were educated professionals who had simply been doing their jobs.

“These are educated police officers who have always carried out their patriotic duty honestly. They are being targeted simply because they are not liked by the criminal clans that want to take over the Interior Ministry,” Vucic said.

He then asked the audience to applaud the police officers and others who, in his words, had been unjustly arrested since the change of government.

Vucic Claims Journalists Are Being Intimidated

The former president also accused the new authorities and their supporters of waging an unprecedented campaign against journalists and independent media, with censorship becoming increasingly widespread since the “students” came to power.

He pointed to the closure of the Informer television channel. According to Vucic, student activists stormed the station’s studio on the very first night after their victory, making threats and hurling insults.

Other television channels disliked by the new authorities had faced similar attacks, he said.

Vucic also described an incident involving the director-general of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS). At a security checkpoint, she was allegedly handed a pair of handcuffs and a bar of soap — a crude threat that she would be raped in prison. Vucic said the incident was the final straw that led her to resign.

He accused the victorious student movement of going far beyond legitimate political protest. Its supporters, he claimed, were breaking into homes and offices, chasing people down, beating them and humiliating them.

He also said activists were circulating phone numbers belonging not only to senior officials but to ordinary people, urging others to call, harass and insult them.

“They really think they can beat all of us to death. They really think democracy can be abolished, that people in this country can be stripped of their right to hold a different opinion. But that has never happened anywhere in the world — not even under Pol Pot,” Vucic said.

“Stand Together Against Tyranny”

Turning to the future, Vucic told party members that the struggle would have to continue in every town and community until they achieved what he called final victory. The key, he said, was unity and resistance to tyranny.

“Go back to your towns and deliver this message to the people: fight, fight everywhere, until final victory. We will never forget, and we will never forgive the terror inflicted on our brothers and sisters. Everyone responsible will answer for it, from the first to the last. They must know that,” he told local and municipal SNS committee members from across Vojvodina.

He warned that the party would face serious challenges but insisted that it would emerge stronger.

“Remember what I have told you today. When you begin to think that this will never end, when the days seem darkest and the hardest moments come, when it feels as though everyone has turned their back on us, remember these words and remember this evening. We are still here, and we can always rely on one another. All I ask is that you stand united against tyranny. Stay together,” Vucic said.

He also urged party members to put their internal disputes behind them. They had spent enough time criticising and attacking one another, he said. Now they needed to close ranks and fight together.

“You have criticised and attacked one another enough. Now stand side by side, hand in hand. Embrace your friend and your brother in the party, and let us fight together. No retreat, no backing down. It was easy to say ‘no surrender, no retreat’ when we were in power. Now we must stand by those words. We will defend Serbia against this evil, and we will defeat them again,” Vucic declared.

The former president ended by making clear that he had no intention of leaving the country. His children and the rest of his family were in Serbia, he said, and so was he.

“My children are in Serbia, my whole family is in Serbia, and I am not going anywhere. I will die here, but I will see them defeated. Long live Serbia! On to final victory!” Vucic concluded.