The law on the armed forces of Serbia will be amended at the request of President Aleksandar Vučić - there will also be personnel changes in the police.
While Serbia has been in turmoil for more than a year, President Aleksandar Vučić appears to be further consolidating his power.
Just a few days ago, the government approved an amendment to the Armed Forces Act, effectively making Vučić the supreme commander, a term that some of his closest associates have preferred for several years.
The amendment, which is expected to be approved by parliament soon, stipulates that the Chief of General Staff and officers of the armed forces must lead them in accordance with the law and the decisions of the president. The current version of the law does not mention the president in this context.
According to Belgrade military analyst Aleksandar Radić, changing the law would practically return to the model of the 90s, when the General Staff was subordinate to the then head of state, Slobodan Milošević.
Retired general Momir Stojanović considers the change in the law "absurd." Serbia is a country with a parliamentary system of government, he argued to the media.
"This may be true, but only on paper. In Serbia, most people have long understood that no decision can be made without the president's approval," he said.
Of course, this does not only apply to the armed forces. Recent personnel changes within the police force suggest that it is now intended to be under the full control of the head of state.
"The path of transforming the police into a branch of the Progressives (the ruling Serbian Progressive Party), which began in 2014, is nearing completion," the anti-government magazine Radar recently noted.
According to the magazine, recent personnel changes show that even a semblance of professionalism has disappeared.
The undeniable fulfillment of Vučić's wishes is the only criterion for selecting top police officials.
According to "Radar", Marko Kričak, the current commander of the Joint Security Unit (JZO), is expected to become the new head of the Criminal Investigation Directorate.
Among students and opposition supporters who have been demonstrating for a year, Kriçak has a reputation as one of the police officers known for his brutality against protesters. /Telegraph/
