Serbian President Says Receives 200 Death Threats Every Day

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2023) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that he receives 200 death threats every day and believes that tolerating them is an intrinsic part of presidential duties.

"I am the president of the republic, and it is my job to put up with death threats. I don't know if it is prosecutable officially or privately, for my part, there are over 200 death threats against me every day. When you are a president, learn to tolerate it," Vucic told a briefing when asked to comment on the effigy that resembled him and was hanged at a Saturday opposition march.

The president said he was "tired of the lie that someone from the outside" had brought the effigy to the rally, adding that it is his job to put up with "such dirty acts and nastiness."

On Saturday, the Serbian opposition held their fifth march and rally in Belgrade. Although there is no official data on the number of participants, the opposition media put the attendance at over 10,000.

Some actors, tv presenters, and politicians opposing the ruling party addressed the crowds.

On May 26, the largest rally in support of Vucic and the government took place in the Serbian capital, with the official attendance of 200,000 people. The next day, the president announced that he was stepping down as the leader of the country's ruling Serbian Progressive Party and suggested Deputy Prime Minister Milos Vucevic as his replacement.

Earlier in May, Vucic said that special services of a friendly country "from the East" warned him of possible attempts to stage a color revolution in the country. Vucic also said that Serbia was going to maintain independent foreign policy and decide on its own whether to impose any sanctions or not. He also accused his political opponents of using people's emotions over the two recent mass shootings to achieve their own political goals.