Vucevic: Picula's interference in Serbian internal affairs scandalous

BELGRADE - Serbia's caretaker PM Milos Vucevic said on Friday European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula was interfering in the country's internal affairs and that this and, especially, Picula's public call to student protesters in Serbia to come out with political demands, was scandalous.

Vucevic said young people in Serbia were wise and loved their fatherland and that they would reject those who wanted to trample the country underfoot and dismember it.

"All that we have been warning of is happening - from attempts by people like (opposition leaders) (Dragan) Djilas, Marinika (Tepic), (Milos) Jovanovic, ProGlas and Vojvodina autonomy advocates to take control of the student protests, to them (students) being issued commands by proven Serb-haters like the European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia, Tonino Picula," Vucevic said in a statement.

"Serbia is a sovereign and democratic state and will never be run by someone like Tonino Picula. All those who think well of themselves and their fatherland need to ignore all that man is saying," Vucevic said.

Earlier, in an interview with Radio Free Europe, Picula said the "student and civic movement in Serbia" needed "political articulation, which, for now, is not coming."