DS requests parliament meeting on developments during floods

BELGRADE – Serbia’s opposition Democratic Party (DS) Monday tabled a motion before Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic for the holding of a special meeting to discuss all developments during the heavy flooding in the country in the last 15 days.

DS whip in the Serbian parliament Dragan Djilas told reporters in the parliament that he did not want to claim in advance that mistakes had been made but rather wanted that it be established if any had occurred.

The meeting, which should be scheduled as soon as possible, is supposed to be attended by ministers, representatives of the police, Serbian Armed Forces, Republic Hydrometeorological Service, and heads of flood-hit municipalities, including primarily Belgrade, Obrenovac, Paracin and Smederevska Palanka.

Directors of public enterprise Srbijavode should come to the debate, too, and it should be seen if “all really depended on God alone,” Djilas said.

In addition, it would also be useful to form an inquiry committee that would be able to establish what really took place, given that a lot of misleading information could be heard in public.

“If anyone in the chain operation is found to be responsible (for possible grave mistakes), they should no longer remain in that position and must be held accountable,” said Djilas.

The New Party, which is in the opposition as well, also wants the parliament to discuss the aftermath of the floods in Serbia, and the initiative was received well by members of the parliament on Monday, although the head of Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) group in the parliament, which is the largest, said it was not yet time for debating, but for work and repairs.

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