On the agenda – laws that allegedly strengthen the institutions of the Protector of Citizens and the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance. In the debate – proof of how the MPs and ministers of the Serbian Progressive Party actually perceive the independence of the institutions. It is good to have them, but only if they defend ‘us’, and not criticise the government like those who were in power before did.

“These independent institutions are nowhere to be found when they should be condemning the attacks on Aleksandar Vučić’s family members.  The Commissioner for Gender Equality is nowhere to be found either, nor the Protector of Citizens when the daily ‘Danas’ publishes on its front page allegations against Danilo Vučić. There are no SNS officials to condemn such attacks. They’d probably be harsher if someone hit a dog on the street.”

“So, I will talk about the endangered and neglected rights and freedoms of the President of the Republic, his son Danilo and his brother Andrej, but also of other members of the Vučić family. […] one important question arises – who protects the endangered rights and neglected rights and freedoms of the persons I have mentioned?”

“Today, Serbia is trapped, and it’s up to us, only on the SNS representatives in Serbia, to point out these two parallel processes. We must strengthen, build institutions, the independence of our institutions, which is the main task in this Parliament today and the topic on the agenda. At the same time, I, as a member of the Government, you, as SNS MPs, must not neglect, must not ignore the process that is taking place, and that is the process of dehumanisation of the Vučićs because one of them is Aleksandar Vučić, the President of Serbia.“

“The security of the Vučić family is seriously endangered and everyone is silent, journalists’ associations are silent. I don’t condemn journalists or media, but I will just say that they’re supporting such statements by their silence.“

“I really expect the Protector of Citizens to be the Protector of Citizens, but of each citizen, primarily the Protector of the one for whom the majority of Serbian citizens voted, and that is the President of Serbia. It is really inconceivable to me that the Protector of Citizens does not deal with the protection of the President and the threats that all of us MPs, mostly Bakarec and my fellow colleague Marijan Rističeveć receive every day via social networks from Đilas, Marinika Tepić, Jeremić and other members of their gang.“

“When the citizens of Serbia hear the words Protector of Citizens, it gives them some confidence. The citizens are Aleksandar Vučić and Danilo Vučić and Andrej Vučić, they are all citizens of Serbia. Do they have the same rights as other citizens? Does anyone guarantee them any rights?”

There was not much talk about other possible obligations of the Protector of Citizens in this debate, because to this ruling majority, this does not really matter.

For the Open Parliament, Mirjana Nikolić.