Interior minister explains why president read from a state secret document on TV

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Nebojsa Stefanovic says that the president of the state, the parliament and the government are legally entitled to remove the designation of confidentiality from any document of any degree of secrecy, and that it was in the public interest to publicly reveal that Aleksandar Vucic was being followed and wiretapped.

When reporters asked Stefanovic to comment on Vucic reading a stat-secret document on Thursday, while he was guest on a television station, the minister said that this was not the main point - but instead the fact that Vucic was being followed and wiretapped.

"Not only does the president have the right to this because it's a document that concerns him personally, but the question arises how come the topic was not that they've been telling us for days that this wiretapping never happened, trying to convince us that we are all crazy. And then, when he comes out with the truth and shows who the persons were and how they did it, and that he was followed and wiretapped for years," says Stefanovic.

Photo: Tanjug/Dragan Kujundzic

He asked what was problematic in the president providing information that is in the public interest.

Stefanovic stated that those who used to be in power claimed this never happened during their time - but it turned out that they did do it during the DS and the SPS rule in the 1990s, as confirmed by court orders, surveillance carried out without warrants, and BIA (security agency) records.

"The president told the truth and showed it to be true. All other persons mentioned are no longer in Serbia nor are they performing any function in the territory of Serbia, while those who are gave their consent, and there is no problem to come up with their names, since they were the subject of interest of security services, and were under measures in order to follow the president," emphasized Stefanovic, and stressed that it was in the interest of our people to learn about this.

Why is that more bothersome than the fact that someone was being followed and eavesdropped on, asked the interior minister.

Stefanovic reiterated that the president had the right to remove the mark of secrecy and to say so in a public address.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)