Belgrade 9/29/2023

PUBLIC STATEMENT

REGARDING RADOICIC‘S LETTER

Forum for Security and Democracy is of the view that the „letter“ of Milan Radoicic does not answer any one question but rather opens numerous ones about the events that took place in Banjska which dramatically jeopardized Serbia‘s European future, the credibility of it‘s foreign policy and above all else the future and safety of the Serbian community in Northern Kosovo.

FSD is, in fact, of the opinion that Radoicic‘s „letter“ shows above all else a complete misunderstanding of his own accountability for the political situation in which Serbia has, due to that lack of understanding, found itself in.

FSD points out that Radoicic, with his „letter“, does not absolve either Serbia or the Serbian list of the responsibility for the newest escalation in Northern Kosovo and that the claims that neither of them were informed of his activities are simply unpersuasive and make the reexamining of the (in)activities of competent security structures in Serbia that much more urgent, especially that of the Security Information Agency.

FSD also underscores that the accountability of security agencies in this case is especially emphasized due to the claims from Radoicic‘s „letter“ that he personally organized all the preparations and logistics prior to the incident in Banjska – which are all but impossible – especially after taking into account the fact that at least a portion of these preparations and logistics had to take place on territory which is completely under Serbian control and in the so-called ground-security zone at the administrative line with Kosovo in Southern Serbia.

FSD, last but not least, expects that the Serbian government will critically reassess its own policy and the limitless trust it showed to the Serbian list, as well as its relations towards other political subjects and Serbian CSO‘s in Northern Kosovo.

FSD especially expects that in the future such „self-initiated actions“ akin to the recent one by Radoicic that directly undermine state policy and the security of Serbia will be averted in a timely fashion because the indisputable individual feelings of love for one‘s country and nation and the resentment for the injustices they‘ve suffered are not and can‘t be a sufficient compensation for the competences and capabilities that complex international security challenges, like the ones in Kosovo, require.