Uneasy calm in Novi Pazar

Uneasy calm in Novi Pazar

Blic daily reports that the police statement says the murder took place at around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Ruždija Durović was killed in front of the polling station number 74 in Novi Pazar, while his cousin Sulejman Durović was wounded. Novi Pazar police chief Muamer Nicević would not comment on the details. “We need to calm the situation down and therefore will not make any further comments”, Nicević said.

The daily has learned that, according to unofficial sources, the incident occurred when Sulejman Ugljanin’s SDA and Rasim Ljajić’s SDP activists met. There were about a dozen people in front of the polling station. Ruždija, his brother Esad and cousin Sulejman Durović were in front with two friends, when Gegić, Derdemez and Papić came by in a car. They told something to Durović in passing, to which he and his group responded with insults. After a row that took several minutes, Gegić and the other two passengers got out of the car, and the fight ensued. One of the group hit Esad Durović, after which he fell to the ground. The witnesses say they thought they saw Esad reach for his pistol as he was lying on the ground. Then the fight and the commotion continued, after which gunshots were heard. It was impossible to tell who started shooting first, but after a round was fired Ruždija Durović and his cousin Sulejman fell to the ground, unofficial source say.

Gegić told the police yesterday he did not kill Durović, but admitted to carrying a pistol. He justified this with constant threats he received from Ugljanin’s supporters.

The Municipal president and List for Sandžak leader Sulejman Ugljanin told the citizens gathered in the town that he would take care of Durović’s family and that they should keep calm and resist provocation. He added that order will be restored in Novi Pazar by Friday and that he had discussed this with Interior minister Dragan Jočić. “I call on the people to trust me and the state institutions, to stop the provocations and escalation supported by Rasim Ljajić who has brazenly announced all this during the election campaign”, Ugljanin said. He added that his party will demand that the SDP be banned.

On the other hand, Rasim Ljajić says he regrets Durović’s death and rejects claims that his security killed him. “The “Together for Novi Pazar” coalition, made up of the DS, G17 Plus and SDP, has withdrawn its observers since it makes no sense to take part in an election after such an incident, especially since we feared for the safety of our monitors, who were threatened by statements that no one can guarantee their security”, Ljajić said, adding that the Sunday local elections in Novi Pazar reminded him of Afghanistan. He also said his party would not take part in any elections without the OSCE observers present.

“Now we are awaiting an agreement between OSCE and the Serbian government, since the OSCE observers were practically named as accessories to murder here”, Ljajić said.

The public sees the Novi Pazar confrontations as a conflict of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Democratic Party (DS) by proxies. It is widely believed that this manner of struggle between the countries’ two largest parties could lead to extremism taking root in the Novi Pazar region.