The "sound cannon" saga continues: Police Minister Ivica Dacic now claims that "unpleasant tones" could not be released from the sound cannon on March 15 because, as he says, that mode is "blocked" in Serbia
so-called "sound cannon" it was not used against citizens in Belgrade March 15, and that "mod" that the Serbian police has on the device is blocked.
This was stated by the Minister of the Interior on Tuesday (June 17). Ivica Dacic at the session of the Committee for Defense and Internal Affairs, where he presented the work of the line ministry from January to March of this year.
At a large protest in Belgrade on March 15, a mysterious roar caused a stampede among citizens during the fifteen-minute silence. To this day, it has not been established whether the state used a sound cannon, some other weapon on the peaceful demonstrators that day, or something else caused the mass panic. "Vreme" wrote a great story about that event The "Hook" file.
Dacic said again that the police bought certain sound notification devices several years ago, and that informing citizens was the only purpose for which they were purchased.
"It can have another mode, if the protesters don't disperse, unpleasant tones can be played that can affect the protesters. I said then that those devices were never used, and that's true," Dacic added.
The minister added that those devices were acquired legally and that in Serbia "the second mode is blocked" and cannot be used.
"But the first one wasn't used either, it was a recorded message for people to disperse. And that was prepared for this event, which was on March 15, if there was a drastic violation of public order and peace," Dacic said.
He then played two recordings: first a recording of a message warning citizens to stop disturbing public order or the police would be forced to respond, and then an audio of what he said was a blocked "unpleasant tone".
"I want to say absolutely, all our representatives were in the police and the prosecutor's office and signed under full responsibility that these sound effects are not allowed here and are not in accordance with the law," said Dacic and added that the prosecutor can see and hear, because the police did not "said-said", but everything is recorded in the police and there is a command and operations center that managed the activities on March 15.
He added that no one from the field said that there was a sonic boom, that the video is not in the command and operations center, that the videos are confidential, but that the prosecution can get them, and that he personally has nothing against everyone hearing it.
As he said, many things are not used in Serbia, such as firing tear gas from a drone, a stun gun, a stun gun and "everything else".
Dacic about the sound cannon: We have, we don't have, we have, we don't have
"Vreme" has already written about contradictory statements of Minister Ivica Dačić regarding the sound cannon.
From the statement that Serbia does not have a sonic cannon and that the mention of this device disturbs the public, to the admission that the police still have sonic devices, but that they never took them out of the warehouse, to a new confession - that the device is not in the warehouse, but it was by no means at the protest.
Then it went one step further - we have it, we presented it, he was at the protest.
The chronology of the Ministry of Interior's statements looks very dynamic.
"The MUP has never used, nor does it use, funds that are not provided for by law," they said.
On March 16, Ivica Dacic said something similar again:
"In the avalanche of fake news, I still want to deny all malicious claims and repeat under full moral and criminal responsibility that the police did not use any illegal means during yesterday's gathering."
On March 17, Dacic denied that the MUP owns a sonic cannon - neither the Vortex Ring Gun, nor the Vortex Cannon, nor the LRAD - 1000Xi of American manufacture, but neither a similar weapon of Russian manufacture by the company.
He also said that "according to the statements of all the people who commanded the units" of the police that day, "not a single illegal means was used."
In response to the claim that there are people who came to health care facilities because of ailments, Dacic said that these are political games and that it is up to the health workers to answer what they are talking about.
Asked about the video on which an unidentified sound can be heard and the commotion of protest participants can be seen, Dacic said that the prosecution will determine what happened.
Three days after the protest, on March 18, Dacic repeated as a guest on TV Prva that the police do not have a sound cannon.
"As far as sound is concerned, we only have devices for louder warning announcements. It might be a louder megaphone that is used for voice messages. But nothing was used that day," Dacic said.
First recognition
Later in the day, a session of the Committee of the Serbian Parliament for Defense and Internal Affairs was held, during which the sound cannon was discussed.
Dacic then said for the first time, in response to a question from opposition MP Miroslav Aleksic, that the MUP still has LRAD 100X. He said the device was acquired in 2021, but the police are not using it.
Towards the end of the day, a statement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs arrived in which it is said that Dacic asked the FBI for help in an expert analysis in the area of the use of means that emit sound waves, bearing in mind that the Ministry of Internal Affairs faced public and media accusations that its members, during a public meeting held in Belgrade on March 15, used a sound cannon.
On March 19, Dacic once again confirmed to the newspaper Danas that the MUP possesses sonic weapons, but also said that these systems are in warehouses in boxes, that they have not been put into use, nor mounted on any vehicle or system.
Asked why he then stated that the MUP does not possess a sound cannon or any other similar sound weapons, Dacic said that it was a clumsy statement.
"This meant that the MUP did not include this tool in its arsenal of coercive tools," he said.
Asked why the state bought the system in advance, when its use is not allowed, Dacic said that it was a failed investment.
When it turned out that the device did leave the manacin and attended the protest on March 15, he said that the device, which was recorded on a Gendarmerie vehicle, is used to inform citizens at rallies, and that its use as a sound cannon is prohibited.
"The police kept the peace"
At the session of the Committee for Defense and Internal Affairs, Dacic also said that "the police preserved civil peace in Serbia, in the conditions of such a large number of public gatherings, radicalism, attacks on the police and state institutions."
According to him, in the first three months of this year, the number of public gatherings, especially unannounced ones with political connotations, has increased many times, and there were 2.546 gatherings in Belgrade alone.
"Stable order and peace have been preserved in Serbia, regardless of numerous temptations both outside and inside. From November 1, 2024 to June 15, public gatherings were held in 19.903 locations. Let me remind you that 99 percent of those gatherings were not registered in accordance with the Law on Public Gatherings," Dačić said.
He assessed that the police acted with restraint, refrained from offensive activities and tried to protect state institutions, themselves and other persons.
Dacic said that 672 reports were filed in connection with public gatherings, of which 445 were misdemeanors.
He acknowledged the police for "what they endured in the past months" and called on everyone to respect public order and peace.
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