It has been said and elaborated many times, but let's repeat it, at the risk of sounding banal and boring. All functional democratic and arranged States they resemble each other, like happy families: they copy successful patterns from each other, possibly retaining specifics in accordance with tradition, culture, some long-established social norms that are reviewed from time to time and as needed. Well, everything is subject to questioning and criticism, even sacred cows. That is what public space, media and civil organizations are for.
On the other hand - Tolstoy can be angry as much as he wants, but both autocratic and totalitarian systems (read - unhappy countries) have a frightening number of common characteristics and identical mechanisms for establishing and maintaining absolute control over society, the state and national resources. First of all, it is important to abolish the different opinion, more precisely, the opinion as such.
Similar are the methods of dealing with political opponents and critics, who throughout the authoritarian world are always declared as dangerous enemies, who need everything on the list and a club on the head. The difference is only in the intensity: will you set the oven to a moderate temperature or will you set the pan to heat, all with that fan that helps to char the meat. That is, whether you will place your opponents in concentration camps, poison them with radioactive poisons, or will you slowly increase the temperature, while assessing how far you can go. And if there is no resistance, the risk of concentration camps and charred bodies increases.
VUCIĆ COPIES FROM THE WORST
Although some of his critics claim the opposite, Vučić and his advisors are not too creative. If such people had led civilization, the wheel would not have been invented yet, let alone flying saucers and dancing robots. It is the old copyist school of managing the state and society. And they copy from the worst. Their eventual specificity is that everything they do looks very tragicomic, like the cheapest farce. But farce can also be deadly, we know that well.
A network of fake non-governmental organizations (in modern language: GONGO) has been used by all authoritarian and totalitarian regimes since the beginning of the modern world and century. From Nazi Germany (Volksgemeinschaft), fascist Italy, to Putin's Russia, Erdogan's Turkey or Orban's Hungary.
In general, in more modern times, the trend is towards the use of new technological possibilities, because it is more convenient and costs less. Someone said: less tanks and more propaganda! But the system is the same: production of conspiracy theories, real and symbolic occupation of public space, labeling of "internal enemies" and "foreign mercenaries", dehumanization of critics, constant mobilization "in the name of the people and the state", calls for lynching (mostly, not direct but the messages are quite clear)... Finally, diverting attention from important topics, let's say murderous corruption. They gather - this is most visible in Serbia - quasi-intellectual strikers gathered from stakes and ropes, whose key characteristic is super-loyalty and unencumbered by any scruples. For all that, they get a mountain of public money, a public space to express themselves and a pat on the back. You are fantastic!
The goal is the meaningless and systemic marginalization of genuine, competent non-governmental organizations - those that still insist on public interest, responsibility and facts.
WHERE IS THE CENTER FOR SOCIAL STABILITY AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR NOW??
The progressives, since they came to power, have produced a ton of GONGO phenomena. They have different functions: some are there just to launder money, and some have higher goals, let's say they passionately shake out personal and group frustrations, polluted by retrograde and murderous ideologies, which are cultivated here with great care, like orchids.
Some logically ask the question of how, in the sea of all these associations, the obscure Novi Sad organization Center for Social Stability (CZDS) emerged in the light of day as the most prominent in the regime. The answer, however, is very simple. When adverse selection is implemented, things heat up and trample everything in front of them. The worst are replaced by even worse, loyalist super-loyalists and then ultra-loyalists. For the Center for Social Action, this is the right time, when the regime took off all the masks and showed the natural beauty of Freddy Krueger. CZDS is in its world what Kricak is in the police world - an extreme that is becoming the norm.
The organization was founded some time ago (in June 2017) by former Espeo resident Lazar Slepčev, who we hear has since switched to the "blockade" side. God will know if that is true, but it certainly doesn't matter. It is irrelevant what happened, so in the short time of its existence, the name of the head of the organization in the Agency for Business Registers has been changed: now, for years, from the end of 2017 until today, it is a certain Ognjen Karanović. CZDS gathered anonymous people with illegible biographies, who became somewhat famous in the public for the first time only when it was written about the fact that they were giving some kind of phantom lectures in the Cultural Center of Novi Sad for huge sums of money. In this space, which used to be a place for the promotion of modern art and critical thinking, they distributed history adapted to their ideas, various conspiracy theories, in fact everything that reached the very top of the country from beer gatherings in front of local stores and became the ideological mainstream. When an uninformed person visits the organization's website and sees the characters and works of CZSD associates, at first he would think that it is a company for the security of facilities and persons or some paramilitary formation in the process of being established. Only by scrolling through the site would you realize that it is actually about think-tank organization, so-called.
Its frontman was (and probably still is) Nemanja Starović, who, due to disruptions among the stars, found himself in the position of minister. First, work and employment, and then he received a portfolio of European integrations at the respected Matsuto. This former Espeo citizen, then a progressive, a man of broad interests, Eurosceptic and Russophile, at the head of European integration? It's like appointing Grandma Bosa from Čurug near Žablje, who professionally "salites fear" and moves the stomach with a jar, as the minister of science and education and health.
The "stabilistas" did not try for a moment to hide that they are actually an integral part of the government. Many of them get paid as advisers, assistants or deputies in various ministries and secretariats. In CZDS, they pack a bonus.
One of them is a tabloid influencer named Obrknežev. Who knows what this member of the SNS, the Russian Party, and the CZDS is all about. He is a guest on the regime's television channels, seriously wanting to overtake Nebojša Krstić in terms of the intensity of his presence in shows that consider and discuss current topics. Of course, it is impossible to beat the president in this regard, but one can be more boring than him.
All in all, the presence of CZDS in the media is not a mistake, but a function of the system. CZDS and similar structures serve to replace arguments with noise, displace knowledge with loyalty, and permanently turn public space into a zone of controlled nonsense.
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THERE IS MONEY, WHAT'S UP WITH IT?!
The "stabilizers" will claim that the real non-governmental organizations are enemies of the state and Serbia, paid by "western power centers". At the same time, they deliberately keep silent that Aleksandar Vučić was and remains much closer to these same centers than the entire NGO sector - and that he received significantly more money from them than all the organizations east of the Berlin Wall put together. At least that's how it was until recently.
They also forget that Western donations are transparent, strictly controlled, that projects have clear goals and include detailed financial and narrative reports. And the goals are mainly related to institutional development and democratization of the state. In contrast, no one knows from whom, how much and in what way the Center receives funds. The only thing that is completely clear are the messages it produces: a vision of Serbia as an authoritarian society in which there is a perfect harmony of politics, the church, the media, beatings and crime. According to that logic, those who violate that "harmony" end up in prison or out of the country.
That there is money and that there is something to do with it, is shown by the great films that this center puts together little by little. Of course, they are unprofessional, propaganda banal and ideologically stripped, but that certainly does not mean that a lot of taxpayers' money has not been pumped into them. From the CZDS workshop, some mini-documentary series have been launched on almost all regime televisions for the past year Time of terror, (De)blockade, Vojvodina dossier, Evil times, and recently we watched Evil Age 2. All "accomplishments" in the function of dehumanizing and persecuting students in the blockade, critics of the regime, as well as the media and journalists who have an unusual habit of reporting in accordance with professional standards.
CDZS, lafo, also organized "anti-blockade" rallies throughout Serbia last year. Of course, this has nothing to do with truth and meaning either. For example, they cannot gather even five or six people who will listen to the lectures of his activists in KCNS.
ON THE TARGET: VERAN MATIC
The main target of the film Evil Age 2, recently aired on numerous regime televisions and produced by the Center for Social Stability, is Veran Matić, president of Anem and member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists. That this film is not just an isolated incident, but part of a wider campaign, shows the intensity of the attacks on Matić that have been carried out for months - from almost all the regime's political and media channels. The film served as a flywheel.
The ominous campaign was launched by President Vučić last year, when he accused Matić that some people, thanks to him, were in prison without any need. And that he should apologize to them. These are those who were accused and initially convicted of murders or attacks on journalists. The absurdity of the accusations is further emphasized by the fact that in 2018 it was Vučić who appointed Matić as his special envoy in talks with Croatia on the issue of missing persons. Previously, Matić, aged 2,000, lived for years under constant police protection due to the threats he received from criminal and political structures.
We talk with Matić about the current campaign, ask him if he feels threatened again and how he understands the reasons why he became a target again.
"The campaign represents a pattern of endangering the safety of journalists, representatives of civil society, non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders. The difference compared to the period when I had police protection 24 hours a day, seven days a week, together with Brankica Stanković, is that at that time there was someone in the system who took care of threats, assessed them and tried to prevent more serious consequences with a proactive approach. There were also public condemnations from the mouths of government representatives. Today we have the entire system and all its institutions abused against female journalists and journalists and media who work professionally", Matić tells us.
He adds that members of the MUP not only do not solve most cases of attacks, but also do not disavow thugs recruited to protect the government, people in black clothes and with masks, most often from criminal circles.
"But that's not the end: members of the intervention units join them in violence against journalists. The MUP is mostly responsible for the record impunity, but the prosecution and courts are also responsible. The top government is most responsible for the increased number of attacks, which marks targets with hate speech every day. This targeting is transferred to the space of the tabloid media, which turns into an army in brutal confrontations. Today, there is no one to protect you, no one to turn to, and the dimensions of the attacks on journalists still seem to be unknown they manage to prosecute in the European Commission and initiate mechanisms to stop them", says Matić. He adds that Serbia is "currently the worst place for journalists and media in Europe".
WHERE DO ATTACKS COME FROM??
Matić says that, especially during the 1990s, he made many powerful enemies, primarily because of his insistence on prosecuting war crimes and the crimes of the State Security Department from Slobodan Milošević's regime.
"Since, as the president of the Commission for Investigating the Murders of Journalists (Slavko Ćuruvija, Dada Vujasinović, Milan Pantić), I played an active role in the arrests, indictments and trials against the top of the DB, which led to two convictions - during those ten years I was constantly attacked, and the process was obstructed. In the end, the Appellate Panel passed an acquittal in violation of the law (which was also established by the Supreme Court of Serbia), which could also be interpreted as a kind of amnesty. And then I was accused of being the main culprit for the trial of the top of the DB, who allegedly "did everything patriotically". And later, in several other court trials, the defense of the accused even accused me of being on trial. Whenever I react to a case of an attack on journalists, there is a counter-attack on me," he says.
He also adds that Vučić's statement that we mentioned and from which everything started can also be understood as a call for lynching.
"When we see who all accused me of being imprisoned or detained because of me, this was an open call for lynching for me, but also for the media community in Serbia. Among them were the former mayor of the municipality of Grocka, who was convicted of setting fire to the house of journalist Milan Jovanović, and Dejan Nikolić Kantar, who was sentenced to prison twice for threatening female journalists and OK Radio in Vranje. I asked the MUP to assess my security, because of this statement "I felt threatened. After a few weeks, I was told verbally that I was not threatened, with a note that during the assessment they found out that a person was asking in the prison who could kill me. When I asked what they did about it, I was told that it was probably just a rumor and that they would increase the patrols around the building where I live," he says.
WE ALL PAY FOR THE POISON WE GET IN ENORMOUS DOSES
Matić says that the government in Serbia is creating para-institutions under the strict control of the ruling party. CZDS acts as an ideological and operational center for him - for the dirtiest jobs, wrapped in media products, quasi-scientific theories and papers.
"The most dangerous thing is that there is a completely open space for hate speech and targeting of dissidents. This organization creates a framework for persecution. It is also a production center for national televisions under the complete control of the government, with the establishment of additional media units for the distribution of this poisonous content and siphoning off money intended for the improvement of professional and responsible journalism. On the one hand, we have the sowing of evil while at the same time using taxpayers' money for this through violation of the law. Some perpetuum mobile - we all pay for the poison we receive in enormous doses. I am sorry that the seriousness of such a broad occupation of the media space, with the aim of completely nullifying the public interest and the needs of citizens, is not understood", says Matić.
MISINFORMATION AND DESTABILIZATION OF PUBLIC OPINION
For cultural expert Aleksandra Đurić-Bosnić, the matter is clear. Organizations such as CZDS have the task of introducing disinformation chaos into the public space by producing propaganda and black-propaganda content. Their role is to amplify the effect of tabloid regime spins and thus expand the space of manipulative haze characteristic of authoritarian regimes.
"It is also their role to suppress, devalue and make sense of civil, critical and oppositional attitudes that indicate both authoritarianism and repressiveness. And they do this using a wide range of labeling, stigmas and false information. Who makes up the 'creative' part of their team is less important compared to their function, which is actually disinformation and destabilization of public opinion. They certainly belong to the more prominent examples of the regime's network for disinforming the public. In this sense, they achieve a kind of synergistic effect with the regime's politicians and the regime-controlled media," she says.
Duško Radosavljević, professor of political science at the "Dr. Lazar Vrkatić" Faculty of Legal and Business Studies in Novi Sad, thinks similarly. In his opinion, the structure of the people gathered in and around the organization is very motley, significant and "doesn't instill confidence, at any point of view".
"Almost all the people who are presented on the website of this 'non-governmental' organization are more than unknown to the professional public, and in the life of Novi Sad, and beyond. There are no experts, experts, analysts, cultural or public activists. One gets the impression that they want to 'cover' their activities with that anonymity. Because they are ashamed of their activities, or for some other reason, for example, because someone else does those jobs and they 'just' sign them. There is no point in going into it because the results are devastating, ugly and they can leave consequences for many. First, on those against whom, under the protection of the regime, the members of the CZDS, and on the second step, also on the members of the Center when the rule of law works here, even minimally. And this is what some of the young men of this paramilitary propaganda organization have learned, no matter how much they are trying to hide where they studied and with what success," he says.
CLASSIC REPERTOIRE OF AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES
Đurić-Bosnić also reminds that the existence of such organizations belongs to the classic repertoire of authoritarian regimes by which they obscure the perception of their own authoritarianism and political reality in their countries.
"According to the 'Chatham House' research, such organizations were particularly active in Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, in the Baltic states, as well as in the wider Balkan region. Perhaps the best definition of the nature and function of such organizations was given, back in September 2016, by the then head of the US mission to the OSCE, Ambassador Daniel Bayer. He said that repressive regimes that can no longer credibly respond to the criticism of authentic civil society organizations resort to establishing their own, fake, organizations that "They will work for the government, precisely to distract the public from the repression it is carrying out. They usually do this by making 'false and absurd claims', creating almost 'theatrical illusions.'
