Member of the opposition list "We can and must do better to save Surdulica" Ljubiša Ranđelović requests that the local assembly discuss the events in the town after the death of Rastko Jović in a traffic accident (February 9).
After that accident, which apparently was hidden by BF (20), a native of Prizren, they were organized protests against arrogant driving that was partly directed against an Albanian family with calls for their persecution and boycott of the bakery.
Ranđelović now confirms to "Vreme" that he asked for an amendment to the agenda of the session scheduled for Wednesday (March 11) and that he would discuss there the affairs and possible interests of the minister without the portfolio of Novica Tončeva.
To another bakery 900.000 dinars
As we wrote earlier, Tončev wrote in the large Viber group "Pravda za Rastka" that he is "with his Surdulica residents", but also this: "Our bakery needs to work, it has the most beautiful bread and pastries, and the municipality is now helping them with a million dinars to survive."
Tončev was referring to the private bakery Fabrika hleba i mleka, which is a competitor to a bakery chain owned by an Albanian family, one of whose members hid a traffic accident with a terrible outcome.
Upon inquiry, Tončev submitted a decision to "Vremen" which actually approved financial support to the Bread and Milk Factory "for the procurement of basic raw materials" in the amount of 900.000 dinars.
Na site of that company, it is stated that the majority package of shares of this former social enterprise is held by Irva izgradnja, investije i inženjering d.o.o. Belgrade, owned by Đorđe Nicović. Nicović is a businessman known for investments in construction projects and the purchase of former state enterprises in Serbia.
Photo: Private ArchiveFinancial support for the bakery
This bakery and dairy sells its products in Vranje, Vranjska Banja, Vladičin Han and Surdulica. The same municipalities are also supplied with milk and milk products. Some of the customers are the military, hospitals, schools, kindergartens and boarding schools. The company has five retail stores in Surdulica, two of which operate as a dairy restaurant with its own production.
According to data from the APR, this company generated revenue of about 99 million dinars in 2024.
In the decision of the Municipal Council of Surdulica from January 22 - that is, before the terrible accident - it is stated that the goal of the financial support is "unhindered performance of production activities and meeting the basic life needs of citizens as well as supplying the population in a state of war and emergency" because that particular bakery "produces items and provides services of importance for the defense of the Republic of Serbia".
Photo: Private ArchiveLocal government decision
Tončev: Everyone is helped
"That company is designated to supply the citizens of Surdulica in emergency situations," Tončev told Vreme, adding that his mention of the company and the help itself had nothing to do with the traffic accident.
"I grew up in Surdulica and I can say that they have the most beautiful bread. There is no reason not to help them, for forty workers to work. I did not say that the other bakeries should close - even during the pandemic, all the bakeries that requested received help from the municipality," says Tončev.
As for the protests after the accident, which partly turned into outpourings of hatred and even threats to journalists, Tončev denies that there is politics or nationalism involved. "This is only about arrogant behavior in traffic, and according to the stories of the citizens, some of them (the family of the bakery owner, editor's note) behaved arrogantly in ordinary life as well."
The collapse of the "Park" bakery
But the owner of the "Park" bakery Liridon, who does not want his last name written in the media, points out that he is suffering a great financial loss. As "Vreme" previously wrote, some citizens watch and record who buys at the "Park" bakery and apply pressure. It's still going on, says the owner.
"It's a huge financial loss. I used to have a market of 50.000 dinars, and now I can't even make 1.000 dinars. I believe that this benefits the competition," he says.
"I never had help from the municipality of Surdulica, nor did I ask for it. Now I finance the bakery's survival by myself, and they still intercept people who come to the bakery, insult and swear at them. I hope that the municipality will help me in this situation as well," says Liridon.
Opposition councilor Ranđelović points out for "Vreme" that the Municipal Assembly should adopt a position that requires state authorities to take all measures to prevent someone from getting hurt because of arrogant drivers.
However, he points out that the situation must not be used for profiteering and ousting competition and causing national hatred "in a multi-ethnic environment where members of national minorities also hold public levers of power."
"Is this about eliminating the competition of one powerful person, and is it normal to help a private owner from the budget? I want to see which representatives of citizens disagree with what was happening, throwing eggs at a bakery and a house and insulting a journalist. That should not be the image of Surdulica," says Ranđelović.
Suspects in custody
The citizens of Surdulica with whom "Vreme" spoke recall that at the protests after the traffic accident, officials of the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Serbian Progressive Party were in the front rows. Flags from the SPS municipal board were allegedly brought for these purposes.
Liridon, an ethnic Albanian, owns four bakeries in Surdulica and two in Vladicin Han. Citizens are on one protest (February 14) visited three of those four bakeries in Surudulica, and lawyer Milan Tasić in his speech demanded that "for security reasons, the family and the closest family of the murderer Rastko Jović permanently move out of Surdulica."
The Prosecutor's Office in Vladicin Han made its announcement for the last time on February 19. They stated that the traffic accident is being investigated for a serious crime against public traffic safety and that the suspect has a driver's license from Kosovo "which was taken away from him immediately during the investigation by the police".
They ordered an expert examination "in order to determine the cause of the traffic accident, the speed of movement of the vehicle driven by the suspect, as well as the fact whether the person who died was given timely medical assistance."
The suspect was ordered into custody, they say, and the prosecutor's office "takes into account the presumption of innocence in this, as in all proceedings."
