Some say he will be a carrier student lists. He says that he is not involved in politics and that until now he worked as the rector of Belgrade University. And such a time has come that it means speeches at protests, conversations with the prime minister and defense of the autonomy of higher education.
Vladan Djokic firmly stands behind the students and their demands. In an interview for the birthday double issue of "Vremena" (on newsstands from Thursday, October 23), Đokić claims that popular support for the student list will only grow stronger.
"What is interesting about that list and what indicates that the students really want the state to function properly, and that they are not interested in the government, is the fact that there will not be a single student on that list. So, it is already a generous move, a gesture with which they show what they want. They don't want the government, they want the state to function. That is a strong message," says Đokić.
Both the government and the opposition are worried.
It is specific and unprecedented, he says, that a group of citizens is being formed that should be "an extension of what the students have imagined and what they have been advocating for for a year."
"It will be a big responsibility and I guess that's why it takes a long time for them to compile the list, that is, to select certain candidates who would be on the list. And these are 250 people who should be trusted and who should not betray that trust," adds the rector.
As he says, apparently "concern in one part of the opposition" is caused by a change in the balance of power, that is, the students are stronger than the opposition. The government is concerned about the same. Đokić is convinced that the student list will have "more and more support".
"Some think that support will decrease over time, I think the opposite. There is growing dissatisfaction with the authorities, and if the elections are in a year, I think that students will have even more support than now, regardless of what happens in the meantime."
*Read the entire interview in the birthday double issue of "Vremena", which is on newsstands from Thursday (October 23). Or better yet, subscribe to the digital edition because we are celebrating with even a 35 percent discount on the occasion of the 35th birthday of our weekly magazine
