Commenting on a letter from President Aleksandar Vucic to The Guardian, international relations analyst Mirko Dautovic told N1 that it was “a rather weak attempt at PR obfuscation”.
“I would say that The Guardian’s editorial team clearly recognized that. It was first published just yesterday, on Saturday, in the print edition of The Guardian in the weekend supplement, on page seven in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section under photos from a market, some carrots… You can see from that that it was published for form’s sake. It’s humiliating that a letter from a president would be published there,” Dautovic said.
“He probably asked his PR team to do something, and this is all they could manage – to get two little letters published in the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section. It’s a very sloppy result, but I’m afraid this was good enough for him. Whether it was initiated by the Minister for European Integration or the Foreign Minister, or a media advisor, I cannot tell. I think he demanded some reaction, and this is it,” he added.
Speaking about the leaked audio of a conversation between the director of the state-owned Telekom Srbija, Vladimir Lucic, and United Group director Stan Miller, discussing the weakening of independent media in Serbia, Dautovic said it has not yet reached Western media.
“We would very much like this to be talked about. The power of the investment fund BC Partners is enormous, especially in London. The Financial Times is not prone to questioning investment funds on ethics; it’s well known that profit is their priority. If they do it, it will be a huge embarrassment for BC Partners,” he said.
He emphasized that he sees no strategic benefit for President Vucic in his intention to shut down independent media.
“Even if he shut down N1 and Nova, the darkness he would impose would turn into light elsewhere; on the internet, it cannot be erased. Maybe he is outdated in his thinking – if I shut down the newspapers, if I shut down the TV, there will be darkness and everyone will listen to me. No, this is 2025,” Dautovic said.
Source: N1
