Defense minister reacts to recommendation to sack him

Defense minister reacts to recommendation to sack him

He added that his job was "to continue to work in a dedicated manner, as I have done in the past year and a half, on improving the quality of work and social status of the Serbia Army."

When reporters asked the minister on Tuesday whether he planned to step down, he said he had been "clear" on that question.

Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic on Monday filed public recommendations to Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and President Tomislav Nikolic to dismiss Gasic and head of the Military-Security Agency (VBA) Petar Cvetkovic, over an incident last year in Belgrade that coincided with the holding of the Belgrade Pride gay parade.

The incident involved members of the police unit Gendarmerie who were deployed to secure the event and members of the military unit "Kobre" assigned as security to Vucic's brother Andrej Vucic and to Predrag Mali - the brother of Belgrade Mayor Sinisa Mali.

Eight Gendarmes have been charged with assaulting the members of the army unit, as well as Vucic and Mali, and their trial is currently under way.

Jankovic in the past repeatedly warned about the work of the Ministry of Defense and the VBA during the investigation of the incident.

Asked to comment on the ombudsman's recommendation, Aleksandar Vucic said late on Monday: "I will read it and respect very much every suggestion, and of course I'll make every decision on my own."