The lists include: students in Serbia have put forward a new demand to Vucic
For more than six months, protests have not subsided in Serbia. Activists, mostly young people, are demanding the immediate dissolution of Parliament and early parliamentary elections. Otherwise, they promise to "radicalize the protest." They plan to publish the list for early voting in the near future. The authorities are not ready to make such concessions. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
More than six months
"Students and their professors stole six months from Serbia, ruined the country, destroyed its growth, and now they want to turn faculties into party committees and municipal committees, which is a crime under the Constitution and Serbian laws," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic commented on the new demand of Serbian students.
He also added that the students would not have to wait long for the elections, but only the president, "the one they call an incompetent institution," could appoint them.
Protests have not subsided in the country since November last year. They broke out due to a tragic incident in the second largest city of Serbia, Novi Sad. A concrete canopy collapsed from the station building, killing 16 people, including children.
Rescuers work after the roof collapse at the railway station, Novi Sad, Serbia, November 1, 2024
The protesters initially insisted that the authorities bring the perpetrators to justice, and then began to put forward political demands, in particular a change of government. She has been held in the country for 13 years by the pro-presidential Serbian Progressive Party led by Aleksandar Vucic.
In mid-March, the largest rally in the last decade took place. According to various sources, from 100 thousand to 300 thousand people participated in it. Under pressure from the protesters, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned. He explained his decision with responsibility for what had happened.
In mid-April, Juro Matsut formed a new government.
Student lists
President Aleksandar Vucic has repeatedly stated that "99% of the protesters are against the color revolution," and also stressed that "there will be no copies of the Maidan in Serbia."
However, the protesters have now demanded that the authorities immediately dissolve parliament and hold early elections. They claim that the authorities do not demonstrate their willingness to comply with their demands.
One of the student leaders, Alexander Milosevic, said that if an early election date is not set by mid-May, they will "radicalize the protest." He also promised that within a week the students would publish a list of their candidates for the elections.
At the same time, according to Milosevic, it will include not the students themselves, but those whom they trust to fulfill their requirements.
In the country, about 59% of citizens support student protests, such data is provided by the Belgrade CRTA Research Center. 44% of Serbs are ready to vote for the list provided by the students. The majority of the opposition parties are also on the side of the protesting youth.
Serbian authorities are opposed to the students' demands. As Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic explained, there is no reason to hold an early vote, since the government has a stable majority in parliament.
What do the experts think
Milan Lazovich, program manager of the Russian Council on International Affairs (RIAC), noted in an interview with Izvestia that holding early parliamentary elections was not justified in this situation.
— This has been repeatedly stated by the current Serbian authorities, in particular Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, and President Vucic has spoken about it, since the ruling party retains a majority. Rather, what is happening within the framework of the protests indicates that external influence continues to take place," the Balkanist said.
In his opinion, it is young people who are being used as the most capable driving force.
— She can really change the political system in the country. I think the situation is being rocked from the outside. In other words, there is practically no doubt that the West, Western special services, are behind this, financing radical Serbian youth and instructing them accordingly, I believe," the political scientist is convinced.
Oleg Bondarenko, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Balkanist project, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that the protest wave had come to naught.
— Serbian students can, of course, threaten a lot of things. But the last protests were in March, two months have passed, and now it's May. During this time, there were no new big, significant performances. Serbia is obviously tired of these protests," the political scientist believes.
According to him, a powerful wave of opponents of these rallies has already formed.
— This wave is independent of the government. But it certainly plays in Vucic's favor. Moreover, not all those who do not like the protests and blocked streets are supporters of the Serbian president. And it is not the youth who votes in the elections, but the people of the older generation. And they can obviously stand in solidarity again and vote for Vucic. So far, there are no grounds for holding new elections," the expert explained.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic
In addition, according to Bondarenko, most likely, the authorities will not now react as nervously to every demand from students as they reacted in the winter.
So far, no one knows what a student list is. It's a cat in a poke. Conditionally, according to various estimates, up to half of the population can support the opposition under different conditions. But again, depending on what kind of opposition it will be, and let's not forget the traditions of the Serbian opposition, which knows how to quarrel with each other on the second day after the creation of new parties," the Balkanist emphasized.
According to Bondarenko, it will be much more difficult for protesters to gather 100,000 people in the coming summer than before.
— The season of agricultural work is coming, so I do not think that new truly massive protests are possible if there are no suitable reasons for them. Those rallies that took place due to the collapse of the canopy at the station in Novi Sad have already been blown away," the political scientist states.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
