"A smiling face in murderous euphoria tells us from the screen - "It's finished" and "He was a tall man"... This is probably the best image of the wishes of those who, under the guise of legalism, concern for institutions and the common good, have been trying to destroy for weeks democratically elected government on the street"
This is how Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić described the largest protest gathering in front of RTS.
In front of the Radio Television of Serbia building on Friday night, right in front of the famous Dnevnik at 19:30, a large number of citizens and students gathered in order to draw attention to the inadequate reporting of this public media service.
With 15 minutes of silence and a flash of lights, the gathered symbolically broke the media darkness, creating an image of unity in the fight for freedom of expression.
An ever-increasing charge of revolt and insurrection gripped young people and students. While a large part of the citizens, opposition politicians and their professors at the faculties support them, the state-party-media machinery of the Serbian Progressive Party continues to target students.
The president is being threatened again.
And so Bratislav Gašić, this time in the role of his party's spokesperson, criticizes those who "call for the death of the President of the Republic".
According to him, the fact that such statements are broadcast by a television that calls itself a "free" media is equally frightening.
"This is the result of an intensive campaign aimed at presenting President Vučić as a symbol of evil." Some of them present him on the covers as Hitler, others say that he should be killed... - said the minister and said that the safety of the President of the Republic, as well as all other citizens, will be preserved".
The President of the Assembly, Ana Brnabić, did not disappoint her electorate either, so once again, like the on-duty defender of President Vučić, she announced about the protest on social networks:
"Finally, the essence of the program! Explained by a student in the prime of his youth: to kill Aleksandar Vučić. All with a smile: he was a tall man. Sholak's journalist doesn't even blink. It's good that they don't invite hatred and conflicts, as it would appear that they do..." Brnabić wrote on X.
And indeed, Brnabić told the truth here. She omitted, however, that it was a senior citizen, who went to the protest as an individual, and not, as she claims, a "fake student".
She didn't even mention that the message he sent was actually a quote from the movie Marathon Runners Run the Lap of Honor.
President Vučić has not said anything for now, because he may be sticking to his promise from the other day: that he will choose his words in the future, in order to reduce the tension in society.
This move comes after a series of statements by the president, but also by many state officials, that the students are foreign mercenaries, who cooperate, no less, than with the Croatian secret service.
"I invite everyone, I will join it myself, I will choose every word that I will say in the coming period, in order not to influence the reduction of tensions".
The tabloids also reported on the protest in front of the public service with full steam, but from a completely different angle.
TV Informer reporter Branka Lazić was on the spot, whose journalistic work is glorified by SNS officials. She is also known for her claims that at almost every protest, activists attack her and interfere with her work.
"Branka Lazić, TV Informer journalist". Female hero. She is proof that journalism is not dead. A role model for all future journalists", Vladimir Djukanović wrote on IX.
Informer's inevitable conspiracy theories continued, so the presence of certain opposition politicians at last night's protest is proof that the opposition, not the students, are in the hands of the strings.
Ten or fifty thousand?
According to police estimates disclosed by Informer editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević, there were around 15.000 people gathered.
The Archive of Public Meetings, however, claims that there were between 53.000 and 55.000 people at last night's protest in front of the Serbian Radio Television, that is, three times more than the Informer editorial office claims.
"At the protest called "Our right to know everything", held in front of the RTS building, an average number of 3,15 people per square meter was recorded on more than 10.000 square meters (out of a total of 24.350 m2)," the Archives of Public Meetings stated. on social network X.
They assessed that it was one of the largest gatherings in the history of Serbia.
Although some collectives have decided that classes in Belgrade high schools will start again from Tuesday, the students are not giving up on the blockades. The President of the Forum of Belgrade Grammar Schools, Ana Dmitrijević, says that teachers will enter the classrooms tomorrow - but most likely in empty ones.
RTS employees gathered in the "Our Protest" initiative demand the immediate publication of the names of the responsible editors who make decisions about the content of the program during the blockade of the building. They are also looking for an answer to the question - why is the majority of the editorial staff completely excluded from work?
IKEA denies rumors that it donated anything to "students who want to learn"
In the previous days, an account with the name Đura Matsuta appeared on social networks. The order is fake, the Government announced, because the new Prime Minister of Serbia does not have one. Is that to be praised or condemned, given his political function
The list of government threats to students in the blockade is only expanding - criminal charges, accusations of violence, violation of the law, mistreatment of women... But they receive nothing, RTS does not work normally, and the police do not react. Is it proof of the state's impotence?
Anyone who condemns the regime's targeting of people from the media, the non-governmental sector, the opposition and universities, must not agree to this targeting of RTS editors and journalists either.
The government of Đur Mazut is "counter-revolutionary", focused on retaliation and state and street violence against opponents of the regime
Depriving Dejan Ilić, an intellectual with an impeccable life and work biography, of his freedom, without the slightest meaningful reason, is just one of the brutal indicators that the regime has turned against its own citizens and is entering a phase of terror
Vučić and Šešelj: Where I stopped, you continue
The return of radical violence subscribeThe archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
