Student guard: Night with veterans in front of RTS

Jaba is "comrade Yulin" (Alexander Vulin) as the Minister of Defense tried to create suitable veterans' organizations, to offer them money and means of financing so that they would be loyal to the government, and some of them "got hooked". 

Then in November there was a student rebellion and the war veterans, even without their organizations, took the side of the children, their own or someone else's. After the SNS beaters started breaking up those gatherings, the seeds of rebellion started. 

No protest, anywhere in Serbia, can go without the security of former soldiers - whether there are 10, 100, 200 of them.

It was in vain for the police to search them, detain them, arrest them, find various reasons to prevent them from coming to the rallies, they were adamant. It started with the January protest in Novi Sad, where there were almost 200 former members of the 63rd Parachute Brigade, then it continued in Kragujevac, where they were joined by veterans of the Military Police, and in Niš, when it was the culmination, veterans from other units that were in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 came as well - the 125th and 349th Motorized Brigades and 15, 243rd and 252nd Armored. 

That's when the government realized who it was dealing with, that these are people who know where they belong, with the people and children, and not with suitable "state" associations of fighters, such as the phantom SUBNOR (whose new and old leadership are "clashing" around the seal). 

And that "spook" has spread through Serbia - wherever there are protests, there are veterans to protect them from the "beaters".

A night with veterans

The reporter of "Vremena" spent the night from Thursday to Friday, in front of the RTS building in Takovska Street (the veterans are also in Košutnjak, where the protests are ongoing), and he saw how much commitment and the rules of the military organization they do. 

"Our names are irrelevant, just like our nicknames, don't mention that. But we know you are our 'brother' and we trust you, even though you are a journalist", they say, knowing that the author of this text has the status of a first category fighter himself.

Their organization is almost perfect, they have seven points around the RTS building in Takovska, where at least five people are on duty at all times, plus "reserve forces" at "five" (point number five), in Ilija Garašanina Street, from where they can quickly reach every point where an incident occurs or reinforcements are needed. 

And there are plenty of reserve forces, between 50 and 100 people. They are sitting on the steps of the Palilul market and waiting for them to react or to reward their colleagues at the checkpoints. Or to go on patrols if there are suspicious events.

Beware of Cacilend

Special attention is paid to those "beaters" of the Serbian Progressive Party who are "camping" in tents in front of the Assembly. 

"Brother, there are more years of imprisonment there than all the 'cats' in Pionirski Park have in total," says one of the veterans, a former military policeman. 

Special "reconnaissance" units were sent to those "hoodies" who are in front of the Assembly, guarded by the police, in case they try to move towards the RTS blockade participants, so that the veterans can regroup their forces.

The evening passes peacefully, the veterans make an operational agreement around 22 p.m., shifts at checkpoints change and patrols of several people start, all in cooperation with the security of the student protest. 

At one point, at the kiosk on the corner of Kosovska and Takovska, one of the characters, visibly under the influence of alcohol and wearing a beret, says: "Here are ten of us paratroopers at the church of St. Mark." 

"He is drunk, but let's see if he is a provocateur," says the leader of the "patrol", and moves from Aberdarova, across the entrance to the RTS, towards the church, with a suggestion to the people at the checkpoints to pay attention. 

The veterans, in addition to the "Motorola" for internal communication, also have additional ones for connection with the security of the student protest, so they are in full coordination. One of the members of the student security departs with the patrol, "combing" the surroundings of the church and Tašmajdanski park - there is no one there. 

"Drunken fools", they state, but this is proof that nothing is left to chance - after all, these are people who went through the hell of Kosovo, and some of Krajina and Republika Srpska.

Awakening students

Then there is a lull, people sit on the steps of the Palilul Market and talk, even about the events of the war, probably because the journalist is there. Then information is received that the students in the blockade have fallen into a kind of apathy. 

And really, those young people are sitting on the sidewalks, (when the girls sit on the concrete, they'll catch a cold, my late grandmother would say) and the veteran "standby forces" start to animate. 

Line up in a column of two and go to the corner with Kosovska, then back to the entrance to RTS in Takovska, to the terrace of the Children's Cultural Center. With the entire route of ovation and applause, shaking hands, the students "woke up". 

On the terrace, the line-up of the "first and second combat groups" (the third is in position) with the message: "Listen well, listen here - veterans of Serbia, protect the students, long live the students". This is repeated three times, which causes bursts of applause and shouts of "pump, pump". 

It happened again, when the students had to be "animated" again, because the night is long...

"Keepers of the Cat"

The author of this text was given another "responsible" task - to walk with a patrol on the plateau in front of the Assembly and see how many "guardians of the village" are there, what mood they are in and whether they are preparing an attack. The president of the Democratic Party, Srđan Milivojević, warned the previous afternoon that the police would forcefully break up the blockade in front of RTS that night.

The police forces are nowhere to be seen, if you don't count those guarding the "cacia guards" on Nikola Pašić Square. 

And the police turned their backs on them, the hooligans, as can be seen by the way they dress and their physiognomy, who supposedly spend the night for 10.000-12.000, sitting in those famous plastic chairs left over from Vučić's rally. 

They are watching so that no one attacks them. 

"Brother, it's not easy for the police either, these are young people, most of them are the children of policemen, they know from the stories of their fathers or uncles what they went through in Kosovo, but work is work", says one veteran, who is in charge of defending citizens if "cacia guards" attack them. 

And they are like island dogs, they attacked a famous actor as he was passing by, knowing that he was on the side of the students - the veterans saved him. 

A personal example - after the session of the Assembly where the election of the Government was discussed, I ran into two members of the opposition, friends, one of whom is a soldier, a retired colonel, and that mob was throwing "Ustasha, Ustasha" at them, because someone was clearly telling them who to shout at. 

I move on after a few minutes, and they repeatedly throw "Ustašo, Ustašo" at me.

Dawn

The night passes peacefully until dawn. The veterans are tired, but also satisfied because there were no incidents or minor ones that they prevented. Cooperation with the Belgrade police from the Department for Public Order and Peace is excellent, they respect each other.

And when the veterans make a so-called civil arrest, and there are some, the plainclothes policemen thank them and take over the miscreant.

There were also ideas to go for a walk to the "Age Smailage" tent, Vučić's janissaries and bashibozuk on Nikola Pašić Square, but it was abandoned, because of the folk saying "the more you touch it, the more it stinks".

In the morning, a new shift of veterans arrives, those of the night go to rest, until next evening. And no one complains about being tired. 

And students and citizens are grateful to them, because they feel much safer while they are there. Cakes, chocolates, pies, juices, water and everything else, of course...