In recent years, the government led by party and state president Aleksandar Vučić unscrupulously attacks every form of protest and pointing out the factual situation in society, especially if it is directed by academic citizens. This manner, unfortunately, has become even more pronounced with the corona epidemic, where neither the place nor the time is chosen, nor the words for brutal insults. It can be a conference of the Crisis Staff, a parliamentary speaker, diplomatic visits, the United Nations, between two bites, and a whole series of other staged performances.
Doctors have inhuman working conditions, during the corona epidemic, and on top of that, the president of the country does not hesitate to respond to them brutally when someone points it out publicly. This paradox of ignoring the threat of the medical profession is only a projection of the continuous usurpation of the Crisis Staff and the contradictory statements of its professional members. In a demonstrative campaign, between tanks, the president shamefully called out anesthesiologist Dr. Rade Panić, from the "red zone" of the Kovid hospital, who pointed out the desperation of the health system and the critical situation of patients. This kind of contempt and insult to Dr. Panić, who speaks on behalf of doctors who give the maximum of themselves and their health to help the sick, is completely unacceptable. Manipulation of information does not stop. While in July we had full Covid hospitals in Serbia, with officially 400-500 positive tests per day, now those same Covid hospitals are full with 5000-7000 positives per day, not to mention the deaths. Let's not forget that many doctors and medical personnel sacrificed their lives while the president of the country was running the pre-election and post-election campaign without taking any epidemiological measures. The Network of Academic Solidarity and Engagement (MASA) asks the President to refrain from commenting on the work of those who are in the front lines of the fight against the virus, as well as to publicly apologize to Dr. Panić and all the doctors whom he insulted and belittled in this way, their dedicated and professional work in the prolonged extraordinary circumstances.
