Pajtic: This would be Watergate in "normal country"

Pajtic: This would be Watergate in "normal country"

As he said, "the fact a man who holds the offices that he does is being wiretapped should bring down the government."

"In a normal country, this would be a Watergate affair, but that will not happen in Serbia. Therefore I am asking Aleksandar Vucic two questions - who is wiretapping me and on whose orders," Pajtic said during a news conference.

The transcript of the conversation Pajtic had with Lidija Udovicki was published on the controversial website Teleprompter.

Lidija udovicki is the sister of cabinet minister Kori Udovicki, and a person the media mentioned in connection with "the racketeering of Serbia" affair.

Pajtic said that the mobile phone conversation was authentic and that it took place a year ago.

"If it's possible that the president of the provincial government and the leader of the biggest opposition party is wiretapped, then no citizen is free. The citizens' ombudsman has already warned that opposition leaders are being eavesdropped, and union leaders and other persons, and I will turn to the institutions and expect them to show they are committed to the rule of law," he said.

Pajtic also stated he "did not wish to declare himself on the content of the conversation, because he has no evidence for what he was saying in a private conversation," but stressed it would also mean diverting the attention from the essence, which is that "there is no free, legal and democratic state in Serbia."

The ruling SNS party issued a statement later in the day saying it expected the allegations of "the chief of the Vojvodina regime" to be investigated. The statement, signed by Deputy President of the SNS Executive Board Aleksandar Jovicic, also asked Pajtic whether he colluded with Danilo Redzepovic, "with whom he runs the website Teleprompter" to fabricate the affair.

The SNS said Redzepovic was until recently Pajtic's "employee and partner," and added that the authorities are now expected to ask Redzepovic "where he obtained the transcript."

The party asked "why Pajtic failed to immediately inform the public of the content of the conversation, a year ago when he said it was made - since as a public official he was under legal obligation to report that the state was racketeering investors," and whether he planned to resign as the head of the provincial government if it is proved that he fabricated the affair with his partner Danilo Redzepovic.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Interior Ministry (MUP) and the Security-Information Agency (BIA) announced a news conference to address Pajtic's allegations.