Ilija Srdanović, the lead candidate of the Student List, which came first in Serbia’s snap parliamentary elections on October 25, has confirmed that he was mobilized during NATO’s bombing campaign in 1999, saying he served in the territory of Vojvodina to defend Serbia.
In an interview with the Croatian newspaper 24sata, Srdanović denied taking part in the war in Croatia, while confirming that he had been mobilized in 1999.
He also said he wanted to extend his professional cooperation with colleagues from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, and other countries in the region to the state level.
“I was mobilized in 1999 to defend Serbia during NATO’s bombing campaign. I was mobilized in the territory of Vojvodina. I did not take part in the war in Croatia; I took part in defending Serbia during the 1999 bombings on Serbian territory,” Srdanović stated, denying involvement in the war in Croatia.
His statement comes as the Student List is expected to represent a political shift in Serbia, following the defeat of Aleksandar Vučić and his coalition in the October 25 elections.
According to preliminary results from the Republic Electoral Commission, the student list has secured approximately 140 of the 250 seats in Serbia’s parliament.
It is worth recalling that Vučić, who dominated Serbian politics for more than a decade, was a member of the Serbian Radical Party, led by Vojislav Šešelj, who was convicted of war crimes. Vučić also served as Minister of Information in the government of Slobodan Milošević, known as the “Butcher of the Balkans,” from 1998 to 2000.
