The delegation includes EGP Co-Chair Vula Tsetsi and Committee member Rasmus Nordqvist MEP. At a press conference at the National Assembly, alongside the co-presidents of the Green-Left Front, Biljana Đorđević and Radomir Lazović, the European Green Party's co-chair Vula Tsetsi said:
'The courage of the students has been historic. Their march to Brussels made Serbia’s struggle visible to everyone in Europe. Their central demand is clear and supported by the vast majority of people in Serbia: early, free and fair elections. With our Serbian member party, Zeleno-Levi Front, we stand proudly with the students who are turning this civic energy into a real democratic alternative for Serbia'.
'Vučić’s government has responded with repression, arrests and police brutality. He is also seeking to silence the independent media, the lifeline of democracy. He is strengthening his toxic alliances with autocrats such as Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong-un in an attempt to turn Serbia away from Europe. Vučić is betraying Serbia’s people'.
‘Vučić’s party, SNS, is still an associate member of the European People’s Party. We call on this European political family to take responsibility, denounce Vučić’s authoritarianism and distance itself from his regime. Also, the European Commission must act as a guardian of the rule of law. The EU must firmly demand an end to violence against civilians and journalists, and insist on early, free, and fair elections’.
The EGP delegation will go to Novi Sad to join the students' protest for the autonomy of the University and against the police violence, tonight at 19h00.
On Saturday 6 September at 16:00, Rasmus Nordqvist MEP, member of the European Green Party Committee, will join Green-Left Front representatives and activists at Belgrade Pride. Rasmus Nordqvist: ‘Pride is a protest and a fight for equal rights. Democracy isn’t just about the right to vote, but also about freedom, protection and equality. This is why the fight for LGBTI rights is a European cause that we must tackle together.’
