Students who hold daily blockades of the faculty and stop traffic on the streets for fifteen minutes as a sign of protest and for the fifteen victims of the tragedy in Novi Sad were chosen as person of the year by the majority of votes of the editorial board of the weekly "Vreme". This is the first time that the award, established in 2001, has been awarded collectively. The award criterion remained the same as before - improvement of institutions in the public interest.
Students at all universities in Serbia, with their courage, solidarity and maturity, made an immeasurable contribution to the liberation of the captured state, consistently and persistently advocating for the rule of law, reaffirmation of institutions and respect for the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia. In addition to being principled and creative, they showed an unprecedented democratic way of decision-making, openness to dialogue and a non-violent way of fighting for the public interest, despite all the slander, provocations and physical attacks.
The rebellion of Serbia's youth is the essential cry of a society brought to the brink of survival by authoritarianism, corruption and incompetence. This is why these young people deserve full recognition because with their personal and collective actions, and true democratic potential, they herald better days for all citizens.
The Person of the Year of the weekly "Vreme" has been chosen since 2001. Previous winners: Božidar Đelić (2001), Mlađan Dinkić (2002), Ljiljana Raičević (2003), Rasim Ljajić (2004), Vladimir Vukčević (2005), Zdravko Ponoš (2006), Sonja Licht (2007), Vigor Majić (2008). , Milica Delević (2009), Dragan Đilas (2010), Ivan Tasovac (2011), Jovan Ćulibrk (2012), Branko Kukić (2013), Olja Bećković (2014), Saša Janković (2015), Ivan Ivanji (2016), Ivan Medenica (2017), Tatjana Lazarević (2018), Ivanka Popović (2019) ), Pavle Petrović (2020), Goran Marković (2021), Nikola Kovačević (2022) and Dragan Bjeloglić (2023).
Less than two days of blockade - that's how long it took to see how weak and powerless the public media service is, both from the outside and from the inside. At the moment of writing this text, it is the eighth day of the blockade, and the sixth that RTS is not broadcasting its program. They also seem to be facing a strike inside the house. And the essence of blocking RTS is not in what it publishes, but in what it keeps silent
In the months after the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad, the flames of rebellion spread throughout Serbia. The first protests started in Novi Sad right after the tragedy. The authorities responded with arrests, police cordons and intimidation, but instead of calming down the protesters, new protests followed.
The rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, has been the target of top state officials and regime tabloids for months, who label him as an insidious instigator of student protests, an opportunist, "the face of evil" and "the leader of the criminal octopus." How and why a rector became "state enemy number one"
"I'm standing in the cordon, and my daughter is shouting at me 'aw, aw, killers'. What should I do? If they ordered me - I would throw down my baton and bulletproof vest and stand on the side of my child," a police officer from the south of Serbia, who works as needed in the Belgrade Police Brigade, told "Vreme"
The recent formation of the Đura Macuta government is part of the regime's revenge and cynicism. This can be seen most in the "black troika" of new ministers appointed to deal with the parts of society that are the leaders and symbols of the big rebellion that lasted for several months, the cause of which was the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad, which claimed 16 human lives. Education, universities, unsolicited media and parts of the judiciary that refuse to listen to orders, either publicly, with announcements, or hiding behind legal procedures, should be dismantled. Those who will have no problem doing everything they are told, even reinforcing the orders with their own inventions, are chosen for this.
Ministers often call Vučić a class teacher. There is no joy or critical reflection in his classroom. Everyone has to bow their heads over the benches, hum and listen. What this is about, the reader sees on television every day
RTS is blocked, universities do not work, and threats, insults and calls to the prosecutor's office and the police to arrest blockers, rioters and terrorists are pouring out from the top of the government. The Serbian state has turned into a farce
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 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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The year behind us was marked by the student rebellion. We were all surprised due to decades of social apathy and the feeling that nothing can change in Serbia. That is why "There is hope" is written on the front page of the New Year's issue of "Vremena". There is - indeed. The rebellious students showed everyone what real courage, solidarity and maturity look like. Also, there is their unprecedented democratic way of making decisions, openness to dialogue and non-violent way of fighting for the public interest despite all slanders, provocations and physical attacks.
