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.
Every year, "Vreme" traditionally publishes an interview with the winner of the award in its first issue.Person of the year". However, for the first time since its establishment in 2001. this year the award was given collectively - to all rebellious students at all blocked faculties and universities in Serbia.
On their behalf and with the consent of the student plenums, four of them speak for "Vreme" - Isidora Majkić, a student at the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Belgrade, Aleksandra Đukić, a student at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Art in Belgrade, Emilija Petrović, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Niš, and Emilija Petrović, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade. in Novi Sad, Branislav Đorđević, one of the founders and most recognizable activists of the group "Stav", which became known to the wider public for the blockade of the Rectorate last summer due to rigged elections for the student parliament of the Faculty of Philosophy.
The voices of the students we talk to are individual, but they belong to an entire generation.
"WEATHER" WHY DID YOU ENTER THIS FIGHT??
ISIDORA MAJKIC: When the students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts were attacked, it was a call to stand in solidarity with them and be with our colleagues. We were all aware that such attacks are no longer isolated cases. Students, as well as other citizens, are not safe in their country because of the ignorance of those who decide everything in the state.
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: I no longer wanted or could be a mute observer from the sidelines while someone else made decisions on my behalf, against my will. I believe that we all have to enter this fight. Whether we like it or not, what the people who make the decisions do affects us all. What are we fighting against? We are fighting against a rotten system, a group of people with the Serbian Progressive Party at the head, who thought they could do anything and that no laws or any rules apply to them. Everything needs to be changed here, from the system to the mentality of people, who are used to the famous - "it can be worse", "it doesn't concern me" and so on. Well, we're not going to get worse - well, it's up to us. By "everyone" I mean all the citizens of our country: educators, farmers, miners, students, postmen, political, apolitical, young, old...
EMILIJA PETROVIC: I see that something is happening and that people are not satisfied, just as I am not, with the state of the country, the system, I am not satisfied with lies, deceptions and stories that things will get better. And it persistently does not get better, on the contrary. Justice, which is locked away in a drawer. As a citizen of this country, I felt the need to do something with my colleagues to enable us and future generations to live a safe and healthy life, both for the mental and physical side of our lives. I have a desire to stay in my country, the very thought that one day I will live in another country is foreign to me.
ALEKSANDRA DJUKIC: Since 2015, I have been among the first on the streets every time when something inappropriate happens in the country. That desire for change flared up and when I saw that a large number of young people came out - it gave me new energy. What happened on November 1 in Novi Sad hit me hard. We see the consequences of the fact that nothing has changed here for too long, that whatever happens, everything stays the same. When my colleagues said that we were going to block the Faculty, I realized that it was the only right thing we could do.
WHAT IS HEALTHY FOR YOU?, NORMAL SOCIETY?
EMILIJA PETROVIC: A healthy society is a society that thinks and listens, but above all it hears. A healthy society is a society that does not "jump" at the first ball, but approaches everything with common sense. If there is a problem, a healthy society should solve that problem in the best possible way. A healthy society thinks about compromise, about emotions, about how the other side would feel in a certain situation. It is a society that approaches everything critically, likes to investigate, see and ask questions, thinks for itself, looks at its own and other people's mistakes and learns from them.
ALEKSANDRA DJUKIC: In a healthy society, institutions function and there is justice. When someone does something obviously wrong, it is sanctioned; when someone commits a crime, he is responsible for it. A few days ago, it happened that the man who defended the students was arrested, and the man who attacked them remained at large. It must not be like this - that no one arrests such people and that they are not held accountable for their actions, and that students who fight for justice are legitimized, beaten and chased by cars every day.
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: A society where no one will be attacked and targeted just because they think differently, a society where every young person who dares to do something for the common good and not just for a selfish goal will not be targeted, a society where responsibility and changes are a normal thing. It's a normal society.
DEMOCRACY?
ISIDORA MAJKIC: For me, democracy is more than its dry definition. I come from the Faculty of Mathematics, which is studied by young people who are much more technically oriented. However, in these times of crisis, we have also shown that we are aware of how necessary it is to listen to each other. We no longer want to be silent observers in society, but we have to take action. Democracy is when you respect other people's ideas, build your own thought, argue with arguments and participate in a healthy discussion.
EMILIJA PETROVIC: We have been denied the right to democracy. The opposition won last year's local elections in Nis, and then after some time it "turned out" that the government had won. No one knows how it came about. There are too many lies. Sometimes I wonder if democracy is even possible in the modern world. Maybe someone who lives in a democratically organized country has a different view, but as a citizen of Serbia, I look at the democracy that has been languishing and dying in our country for years.
WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF THAT HEALTHY BASED ON?, DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY?
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: I learned and continue to learn about democracy and history from professors and teachers. They taught me through schooling and studying that you should think for yourself and not blindly believe in what you are served. I also learn from brave people who dared not to go with the crowd, but to tell the truth, no matter how much it cost them. History can sometimes be painful and we don't like it, but it must not be rewritten because of our personal feelings.
EMILIJA PETROVIC: My parents raised me to always think before doing anything in life, and to approach everything critically. Not everything I hear is necessarily true. I was always taught to research, to ask questions, but also that there is no shame in asking for help or an opinion. People like to help other people. I noticed that during the blockades as well. The good thing about this situation is that you actually see how good and supportive people are. Crises like this are stressful for all of us, there is a lot of uncertainty, both because of exam deadlines and many other social issues - about how long all this will last, whether the demands will be met, whether someone will be held responsible for what happened happened in Novi Sad, will we see the backs of certain people... But we can see how much goodness there is in people, which shows that the world is not necessarily corrupt after all. There is no only good or only bad. Even Anne Frank writes that regardless of the evil that happens in the world, there are still good people. That's how I get through the blocks.
ALEKSANDRA DJUKIC: We understand that democracy is the closest to a just state. It seems that it is still woven into us and that students who have never experienced it know what to do. I somewhat remember the previous government, and I certainly don't think that everything was perfect then, but it was calmer, it wasn't quite this bad.
WHAT IS PATRIOTISM TO YOU??
ALEKSANDRA DJUKIC: I will quote my colleague who said: "What we students are doing now is the highest act of patriotism." We saw that there is no one to fight for us, that there is no other way and that we are threatened. This is our way to change something and to protect ourselves and other fellow citizens. I know that some people confuse what patriotism is, they don't understand that patriotism is more than writing in Cyrillic, mentioning Kosovo and the like. Patriotism is when you fight for a just country and when you do no harm to anyone in that country. We are all in solidarity with each other, we communicate with other faculties and I think that the picture we send is very beautiful. Suddenly, a more beautiful atmosphere was created in the country, and at every faculty there is something that resembles an organized country.
EMILIJA PETROVIC: I would like to quote Desanka Maksimović - one of my favorite writers - who said on a certain occasion that we should all be patriots, that is, we should love our own, but respect others. I am guided by that sentence. I think there is no better thing than when you are proud of your country, your environment and your local community. The country you were born in can say a lot about you. For me, patriotism is doing something for your country, providing support to your fellow citizens, colleagues or young people. This is where love is shown. I believe that a citizen should contribute to solving the problems of his country because each of us has a responsibility and should contribute. It can also be seen as a privilege. We have been given the honor to ask and we should use it.
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: Patriotism is when someone truly loves his country, by paying every dinar of taxes, picking up after himself, taking care of every fellow citizen, regardless of religion or nationality... Patriotism is when you point the finger at the one who, hiding behind the tricolor and three fingers, tramples everything in front of him for the sake of personal ambition and boasting. Patriotism is when you stand by those weaker than you.
HOW DO YOU SEE SERBIA TODAY? - HER COMPANY, STATE, PROBLEM...?
EMILIJA PETROVIC: Society is a bit fearful, but there are people who can overcome that fear and there are more and more of them. More precisely, more and more of us who know how to face that fear and say: I'm not afraid of you anymore. That's why we are brave, because we know how to say "no" and we want to fight to make things better here. And Serbia is like a table that stands on four very broken legs, and the question is when it will fall and collapse. Deep changes are urgently needed. If we talk about politics and the current government, they are like flies without a head. On the other hand, I think that Serbia is very combative. We have been through various destructions and wars and I believe we can overcome this too. The biggest problems are reflected in the fact that when we feel the need to turn to someone, we will not do so because we know that there is no help for us. In the fact that there is no justice in this country, that there is no democracy, that the truth is often hidden. We are constantly affected by some injustice. That's exactly why we got together, because we experienced and live this injustice. We want Serbia to become a legal state, a state where justice and reason rule, and not to go from one day of mourning to another.
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT DAILY THREATS AND ATTACKS? ARE YOU AFRAID?
ALEKSANDRA DJUKIC: First, on behalf of my faculty, I must condemn what happened to our colleagues, whose personal data was published on a portal. The fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs forwards such data about students for the sake of government propaganda is a great shame. The state is not doing its job, but manages to spread propaganda against students. And it's very simple: instead of asking for data about us, it would be much better for the whole society if they fulfill our requests. No one pays us, every donation we receive is from citizens who do it of their own free will because they support us wholeheartedly. They address their electorate, spin and misinform, but I think it is clear to everyone what is happening in the country, because everyone has at least one student in their area. No one trusts the regime anymore. And violence and hate speech are our reason to fight on. If we give up now because our colleagues were targeted, we are next. I myself was a victim of such attacks. If we decide to withdraw now, we will never get better. This is a fight for a better tomorrow. If we let them do what they want now, it won't come tomorrow. Institutions must start doing their job and listen to their people, not just the government.
EMILIJA PETROVIC: I would divide those attacks into insults and statements. Let them think what they want, we know what is the truth. We know we are not foreign mercenaries. Accusations have become a daily occurrence, which is so absurd it is laughable. But I have to say that I am shocked by the insults directed at my colleagues by some influential people. People have to have some kind of proof, and they don't have it, and they never will, because we're not it. That's why we don't even need to make excuses.
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: I say that I am a foreign traitor and a domestic mercenary. When I work as a barman in a cafe, I get my income from people who pay in dinars. I am a foreign traitor because I refuse to work for the interests of another country, but exclusively for the interests of my country, the Republic of Serbia. What I am doing now is in the interest of my country, I am convinced of that.
And when it comes to fear, I wouldn't say that I'm afraid for myself. Going into this fight, I was fully aware of the risks. What worries me more is that I've lost trust in people, that I can't really and openly talk to another person, a human being. The collective paranoia this regime has produced with its spin, lies and attempts to prove to everyone that everyone has a price has instilled in me a fear of trusting other people. During this battle, we overcome that fear together, by talking and showing that we are there for each other, as on January 3 we were all in front of the police station to support the man who defended us. We support each other, show solidarity and thus overcome the fear of trusting other people.
DO YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT OF YOUR FAMILY AND PROFESSORS?
ISIDORA MAJKIC: My parents support me. Mom, of course, worries and checks to see if I'm okay. When a large gathering of students was organized at Slavia, I was very proud: my whole family - father, mother and sister - went with me. I see that the adults generally support us, but at the same time they let us make this our struggle.
As for professors and other employees at the Faculty, the situation here is excellent because the Teaching and Research Council unanimously voted to support the blockade. The professors visit us, listen to our opinions, do not interfere excessively, but are there to show with their authority that they stand by us.
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: Although at the beginning my family was justifiably scared and worried, they fully support my struggle and that of my colleagues, and actively participate in it as much as possible. Professors, as has always been the case, mostly stand by their students. They join us in the fight, but not as those who will stand in front of us and lead us, but as those who will stand behind their students and let them lead them.
EMILIJA PETROVIC: My family members are extremely supportive even though they are not able to attend the protests themselves. They are also understanding when, precisely because of the blockade, I return home late at night and I don't have time to talk to them, nor to tell them about my day, but I just go to bed and go to university again in the morning. Several times it happened that members of the extended family called me and asked if our faculty needed anything. They see us, hear us, understand us and understand our messages and demands.
Regarding the professors, I recently spoke with a professor from my faculty who said that they didn't know how much their support actually meant to us. They are a treasure for us. They don't have to bring us anything, it just means when they come and say we're doing the right thing. At my faculty (Faculty of Philosophy Niš), the picture of all this is positive. Of course, there will be professors who will not support what we are doing, but they are in the minority. We don't want to pay much attention to them precisely because we get huge support from professors who see us, hear us and even come to our protests and actions. It warmed my heart when I saw professors from my faculty wearing red gloves at protests and how they were simply there. They come to work, then stay at the university, talk to us, ask us what we need, how we feel. There are also female professors who want to provide some kind of psychological help to students who need it.
ALEKSANDRA DJUKIC: Everyone in the house is proud of me. And at the Faculty, it seems to me that the professors are even more proud of all of us. The professor, who is my mentor, wrote a wonderful message to the students at the very beginning of the blockade and has supported us since day one. He always went with us to protests. Many other professors support us in different ways: some cook for us, some write something nice or come to the plenum. Support comes from all sides. Wherever I appear and say that I am a student, people are delighted, thank me and tell me to continue the fight.
WERE YOU SURPRISED BY THE MASSIVE PROTESTS AND HOW COURAGEOUS AND POLITICALLY AND SOCIALLY AWARE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE AROUND YOU?? WHERE DOES THIS AWAKENING COME FROM??
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: I was really surprised by that massiveness. I was especially surprised by some friends, acquaintances and colleagues whom I would never have said before that they would be with me every day at the university and in the front rows at protests. I believe that consciousness has always been there, but somehow it was hiding, waiting for the right moment to be released.
I see this awakening as a natural response of young people to political and social reality. They no longer want to suffer someone pulling their nose, that responsibility only applies to people who are not in the ruling party or close to it. Simply, it is a wave of energy and change that nothing can stop and that is breaking down all the barriers in front of it.
EMILIJA PETROVIC: And that awakening brought many good and beautiful things. I really like how we function as a community. We showed that we are not lazy, that we know how to fight and take to the streets. We are creative in all that. For example, there was almost an action on the Bridge of Youth in Niš, when we covered the bridge with a black canvas. We are a society that knows how to say what bothers it, knows how to say that it wants changes. We can get that and raise our voice without violence. We are a safe and civilized group of people who fight for their demands in a fair way. We want to be heard and seen, we want to be supported.
WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THIS FIGHT?? YOU THINK IT WILL BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED BY THE TIME FACTOR? WHAT NEXT? WHOSE SUPPORT ARE YOU HOPING FOR??
ISIDORA MAJKIC: The most important thing for me, besides, of course, fulfilling the requirements, is how unique we students have become and that we have realized that from now on we must not be passive. We have seen how strong the student rebellion can be, send a strong message, and our demands are quite clear and precise, and I expect their fulfillment. In addition, it is also important that we have shown that an independent group of young people has emerged that is ready to react to any subsequent injustice. We sent a message that students have had enough. Our plenums, where we discuss, listen to each other and respect everyone's opinion, but also all other actions and events at the faculty are very important because they showed what strength we have. In short - a new dam of our society has been formed.
BRANISLAV ĐORDJEVIC: Although everyone thought at first that we wouldn't even last two weeks, here we are still in the blockade. The government, which has not learned any lessons from the 90s, constantly makes the same mistakes and is fanning this flame more and more. First, by "spreading" in the media, then attacks on the street and now by sending the BIA to the door. They jumped into their stomachs. People stopped being afraid of them. We are preparing to welcome spring and some nicer weather.
As for the support we want and what it should be, we expect all social groups, from trade unions to politicians, to get serious. It is not fair to put the entire struggle on the backs of students. Yes, we started this and we have the strength, we sacrificed a normal life, we went out of our comfort zone as much as possible and every day we take a step further. Now it's your turn, gentlemen, it's not fair that everything runs normally when nothing is normal anymore in this country.
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.
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 government of Đur Mazut is "counter-revolutionary", focused on retaliation and state and street violence against opponents of the regime
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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It would really be worthwhile to see what legal possibilities there are to finally "divorce" the name of the abused Meša Selimović from Twilight News and clean it from the context to which it by no means belonged, neither by life nor by work.
"Since the Croatian students, on the instructions of me and a few other radical Serbs from Croatia who hate everything Serbian, organized student protests in Serbia, I think that the relations between Serbs and Croats are even more interesting and lively, especially among the younger generations."
