There is no doubt that there are tensions in society, that dissatisfaction pulses beneath the surface. But can individual actions and performances of the opposition be called a political crisis, when no strategy is recognized
In the past weeks, they took turns protests "Your hands are bloody" and "Stop Serbia", i.e. "15 minutes for 15 lost lives".
There were charms, bones, mess in front of the City Hall in Novi Sad, arrests.
MPs and councilors were in Novi Sad blocked by the Prosecutor's Office and the Court and demanded the arrest of those responsible for the death of 15 people due to the fall of the canopy of the Novi Sad railway station and the release of the arrested protest participants. In an attempt to enter the building, they faced off with members of the Police Brigade in full equipment for breaking up demonstrations in the discipline of who will push whom harder.
At the same time, activists in Belgrade tried to stop it demolition of the Old Sava Bridge. A picture of members of the Police Brigade throwing the leader of "Kreni-permeni" onto the asphalt Sava Manojlović, they put handcuffs on him and twisting his hands, while he was moaning in pain, they took him to the hospital, it exploded on social networks. As well as the comment of the President of the Republic of Serbia that the member of the Assembly of Belgrade "squealed like a pig" on that occasion. Actions aimed at stopping the demolition of the Old Bridge continue.
All this was transferred to the Assembly of Serbia. The session devoted to the adoption of the budget turned into (almost) a fight after the President of the Assembly Ana Brnabić rejected the debate on confidence in the Government due to the fatal accident in Novi Sad. Two days later, on Wednesday, November 27, the session continued, but without opposition MPs.
During that time, as part of the action "Your hands are bloody", the councilor of the Green-Left Front in the Assembly of Belgrade poured the chair's table and the lectern with red color "blood".
While opposition MPs boycotted the National Assembly, blocked by FDU students are their faculty because they were attacked by members of the Serbian Progressive Party when they participated in the "Stop Serbia" campaign. They demand their apprehension and indictment.
Bullies and hooded provocateurs appear as needed at protests in Novi Sad and Belgrade.
Fluctuations within institutions
Bar Association of Vojvodina on November 27 entered the one-day strike due to the "systematic and long-term interference of the executive power in the work of the judiciary and the dramatic violation of the independence of the court".
The same day at the session Assembly of the city of Kraljevo the security had to separate the councilors to prevent a general fight.
Before that, the employees of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Monuments, despite the intimidation of the BIA agents, refused to give the green light for the demolition of the General Staff.
Professors and associates of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Belgrade requested u an open letter to release all those arrested at the protest in Novi Sad as soon as possible, as well as to arrest all those responsible for they kill the innocent during the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station. Professor Aleksandar Baucal told "Vreme" that the mood of his colleagues shows that they do not think that this reaction is enough.
Under the threat of suspending the work of Belgrade University professors, the Government withdrew the Proposal for Amendments to the Law on Higher Education.
Educators do not give up their strike, which is taking place within the legal framework, and announce radicalization...
An attempt to normalize an abnormal state
The game of cat and mouse repeats itself almost every day.
So on November 27, the activists were there for an hour and a half blocked the approach to Belgrade on the water, and they were attacked by organized groups of men already seen at opposition protests who are associated with SNS; on Thursday, November 28, opposition MPs and councilors again blocked the Court in Novi Sad, this time they put padlocks on the fences that surround the building, and the policemen cut those padlocks under the watchful eye of members of the Gendarmerie...
The media was fired up. They critically report extensively on all these actions, they discredit the regime in every possible way or remain silent. A real propaganda war is underway.
On one side of the political spectrum, they are trying to show that there is a rebellion against the general abnormality in Vučić's autocracy, on the other side, that everything is in the best order and that it is about marginalized groups that unsuccessfully try to provoke conflicts.
Is Serbia in a political crisis?
It depends on which media you get information from. For the pro-regime media, what is at work is an attempt by a small number of disenfranchised oppositionists to destabilize Serbia and come to power by force, but that it is a fruitless effort because they do not have the support of the "majority, decent Serbia".
In support of the thesis that nothing will come of all this, he says that the opposition has no answer to the state force commanded by Vučić and his men. The MUP, special units of the police, the Prosecutor's Office and the progressive Batanica detachments will defend the ruling system of the Serbian Progressive Party with all available repressive measures in proportion to the danger that threatens it.
This little application of excessive force, the use of SNS members for special operations and the groundless arrests of activists, students and Goran Ješić are, for now, only a demonstration exercise and a warning.
It is also a fact that, except for the large protest in Novi Sad on November 5, very few citizens participate in these actions and protests. So, it can be stated once again that the potential for mass protests is present, but that the opposition is once again failing to mobilize all those who are dissatisfied with the current situation.
A bloody fist like a clenched fist?
Do you bloody fist symbol does it have the strength of a clenched fist?
Not for now. It is a matter of organization, work in the field, network of activists and volunteers, political marketing, and ultimately finance. A clenched fist with the slogan "Gotov je!" (Slobodan Milošević) came to life in the late 1990s and flared up among students and young people. The then regime had no response to their very well-organized resistance.
Today, there is not a single organization in Serbia that could mobilize and coordinate a large number of young people and students throughout the country. Like opposition political parties, student and activist organizations act independently, spontaneously and uncoordinated.
A good and recent example is the blockade of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts because the students were attacked by members of the SNS.
Why didn't the students of other faculties also organize blockades out of solidarity with their colleagues?
Why didn't the professors of Belgrade University go on strike until the thugs were arrested?
First, the awareness of solidarity has been killed in Serbia, everyone is driven solely by their own pain or interest. Second, fear has crept into the fabric of Serbian society, the fear of reprisals from the progressive regime is omnipresent. And thirdly, as already mentioned, there is no political organization that would coordinate actions against a common overarching problem - the absence of the rule of law on which the progressive government rests.
Something new in the opposition
On the other hand, opposition parties always make the same mistakes: they only think one step ahead; or they are at odds, or they act in concert, but barely conceal their intolerance; there is no leader, a figure around whom everyone would gather and close ranks, behind whom everyone would stand without publicly grumbling. It is obvious that the citizens of Serbia tend to follow someone who personifies the leader.
Now, therefore, parliamentary opposition parties are boycotting the Assembly. They came up with and explained that after the chaotic session on Monday. Okay, but seen that before. What's the next move?
Guards are being organized to prevent the demolition of the Old Sava Bridge. And that's okay. But how far are they willing to go? Do they really think they will prevent demolition? If not, what is the next move when they are definitively kicked off the bridge so the Chinese can continue the demolition in peace?
And where do all these individual protests lead?
In front of our eyes, the already seen game of endurance and patience is unfolding, in which the regime of Aleksandar Vučić has a huge superiority in manpower ready for action and means, not to mention the institutions of state power that control the parties in power.
And yet, Vucic seems to be losing patience this time. A lot has accumulated, he was also forced to force the ministers to voluntarily resign in order not to reduce the pressure in society, and it is necessary to build everything within the framework of the EXPO 2027 exhibition, for which excessive money has been allocated.
The leaders of the opposition realized that the struggle within the institutions is Sisyphean, they took advantage of the moment and came out of their comfort zone to the streets and at the same time with activists from different organizations they maintain the tension.
No strategy
But: is there a political manager who, during that time, negotiates with unions, representatives of the Bar Association, the association of judges, prosecutors, members of the MUP, BIA, student organizations, individual SNS officials... about coordinated actions?
Individual actions and performances, blockades are organized, but no strategy is recognized.
And what if the regime gives way somewhere? Or not give in? What are the next moves?
The goal of the opposition is to come to power. But how, if the elections are not attended because they are rigged, and violence is ruled out? It seems as if the opposition leaders still expect that something will change if they wave long enough. The probability of that in this system is almost zero.
The opposition does not have its own candidate for the Prime Minister, there is no candidate for the President of the States, they do not promote people who could be better ministers than the existing ones. Why isn't a shadow government formed? If there is an aspiration to change the government, why aren't the people presented to the citizens who should take over the government?
This is how everything boils down to a game of cat and mouse, and only at Disney Jerry always tricks poor Tom. In Serbia, the last 12 years have been the opposite.
After the meeting regarding the crisis at the University of Belgrade, the rector's team clearly emphasized that the return to normality is out of the question without the repeal of the unconstitutional decree and the cessation of media pressure. Continuation of negotiations tomorrow in the Government of Serbia
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