Slavija, Autokomanda, Novi Sad, and since yesterday, Kragujevac, were strongholds of the largest student protests that have been held so far. What are the future plans of the students and where does this rebellion lead?
While still summarizing the impressions of the student protest called "Let's meet at Sretenje", which was held in Kragujevac, the question arises: What next?
Some of the students hinted that the next big gathering could be already March 1 in Niš, but that the student plenum will vote on it. This would round off the whole, because each of the four largest Serbian cities would have the opportunity to host students from all over Serbia.
Tectonic changes are currently shaking the political scene of Serbia, which has not experienced such a crisis since 2000.
The government does not react to the students' demands, but instead turns its rhetoric in another direction, accusing the students of conspiracies, schemes and plans for the secession of Vojvodina.
At the Meeting, on February 15, 2025, the Declaration on Vojvodina was adopted by acclamation. The student demands, allegedly fulfilled, essentially stand in place.
During that time, the parliamentary opposition modestly advertises itself, and even when they do - they do not show any special efforts to present a concrete plan, while part of the students, for their own reasons and beliefs, distance themselves from them.
Emotional pilgrimage and reversal
Nikola Jović, professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, perceives the student march to Kragujevac as a multi-layered event, which has two key components.
"The protest in Kragujevac, like the protest in Novi Sad, had two components. One is the protest day itself, and the other is the emotional exchange with residents on the way to Kragujevac, i.e. Novi Sad. This valuable pilgrimage may have a greater significance than the protest day itself. It spreads optimism and faith that a better and fairer society is possible", believes Jović.
Asked to comment on his further expectations regarding the student protests, Jovic says yes
in the coming weeks, the pressure of students in the blockade, united with other social groups, will intensify and gain new creative elements. Or in the vocabulary of protest, that they will "pump" even harder.
"So far, the students in the blockade have planned their actions strategically and implemented them even better, forcing the government to act reactively. The government obviously has no way to fulfill the demands of the students without collapsing, so the intensification of social pressure will lead the government to further defensive action, which has been unsuccessful so far. It seems that we are moving towards a tipping point".
Key Assembly Session
In the meantime, the resignation of Prime Minister Vučević has been gathering dust for almost three weeks, because the session of the Serbian Parliament was not held at which the resignation and fall of the Government would have been confirmed. Therefore, the Government is not yet technical.
Political analyst Zoran Stojiljković considers the next 15-20 days to be crucial for the further development of the already complicated and complicated political situation.
"I expect that in that period there will be an attempt to convene the Assembly and to confirm the resignation. We will see what the reaction of the opposition will be and to what extent it will participate in that session. Everything depends on what will be agreed as the agenda. The government will certainly try to dilute the situation with various decisions and laws, in order to cover up the issue of the crisis of the government and the opening of the issue of no confidence in the President of the Assembly", he explains.
Gandhian struggle of students
Things have already gone too far, and the government is in a terminal crisis, which cannot be solved by their old patterns. The student effort went beyond its expected domain and spilled over into a general popular revolt.
"Considering the breadth of support they enjoy, we see that these are no longer protests of only the young part of society. No media pressure can make this rebellion invisible anymore".
As he says, Sremska Mitrovica and Kragujevac were the image and opportunity of two different political cultures.
"These are completely different ways of organizing. One is the arrest of people from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the other is the presentation of the Gandhian efforts of students supported by hundreds of thousands of people. "Democracy must be reset, we just don't know in what form yet," concludes the political scientist.
New protest in Niš
Students still work hard. The energy remained at the same level, and a teaser of the announcement of the new protest is already circulating on social networks, and the comments and messages of support for the students do not stop arriving.
Then a new big protest should be announced, which is planned to be held March 1 in Niš.
ETF students shared a humorous post on the networks, which also announces this protest.
They followed up on the fact that students have so far walked to protests in Novi Sad and Kragujevac.
This would make Niš the fourth big city in Serbia where people from all over the country will gather.
The President of the National Assembly accused the participants of the RTS blockade of systematically harassing women employed in the public service, pointing out examples of female journalists who were exposed to pressure. She announced that she expected a reaction from the institutions for violating the law
Support for students in front of RTS takes on a new dimension - citizens bring food, instruments and good will. The streets are closed to traffic, but open for solidarity and togetherness, which has been going on for the sixth day
The sharp reaction of SNS deputy Vladimir Đukanović came after claims appeared in the media that the students of the Faculty of Law in the blockade are demanding the holding of extraordinary elections in June. Đukanović assessed that, if that request is truly authentic, "the Faculty of Law has lost its purpose of existence."
Out of a total of 3.000 medical students in Niš, only 153 of them reported attending online classes during the blockade, according to the protesting students. They say that the data is discouraging for the faculty administration and that they are determined to persevere in the fight to replace the leadership.
Danilo Mandić, bodyguard and nephew of the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, is suspected of having participated in the shooting in which Darko Perović and Aris Turković were wounded.
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.
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