Drone view from the protest of December 22, 2024 in Belgrade. Credits: Stevan Filipovic on Instagram reels
Thousands of protesters filled the streets of Belgrade during January 12th, flashing the lights of their mobile phones and holding a 15-minute silence in honor of the victims of the collapse of the roof of a train station in Novi Sad, about which they blamed the authorities.
Students from the state universities in all Serbian cities organized the protests, demanding the prosecution of those responsible for the tragedy. They blame the ruling Serbian Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vučić for corruption and nepotism.
Students of the state university have suspended classes for weeks, demanding the release of all documents related to the renovation of the collapsed station, as well as the prosecution of the officials responsible for the disaster that took the lives of 15 citizens.
Students and youngsters from Kosovo have spoken to Perspektiva Plus about their thoughts and takes on these protests and how this mobilization makes them feel towards the future of youth activism in the region, considering the crucial role the youngsters and students of Serbia played in organizing these protests in the first place.
Auron Doli, a 24-year-old student at the University of Pristina, believes it is crucial for young people in Kosovo to discuss such events, as it provides a unique perspective beyond the narrow nationalism and banalities of daily news concerning relations between Kosovo and Serbia and that the potential of students to produce great social changes, especially in Belgrade, is not something new or unknown, for all the changes that have taken place in Serbia have been introduced by youngsters and students, and that at the point where the political situation is in Belgrade, the revolt against an authoritarian system like that of Vučić is inevitable.
“I find it necessary that students and young people in Kosovo are informed about the events there from a perspective beyond vulgar nationalism and the banalities of the daily politics of Kosovo and Serbia. Rosa Luxemburg said that the spontaneous spark does not arise from the void, but from the accumulated tensions within the social classes, which symbolize the explosion of a deeper process of dissatisfaction and economic and social contradictions. The transition from passive dissatisfaction to active resistance is exactly what we are seeing in Serbia today. I think that the tragedy at the train station in Novi Sad where 15 people died can be this spark. Students in the Balkans have always been at the forefront of resistance, from anti-fascist movements during World War II to protests against the genocidal Milosevic regime in the 1990s. I think that the current protests in Serbia are part of this historical tradition; it shows the strength and potential of students to generate social changes. In Serbia, Vučić’s government for several years now is not just authoritarian but also deeply neoliberal. In a regional reality of peripheral capitalism turned into oligarchic neoliberalism, where economic conditions get worse and worse and you are forced to choose between emigration or conformism, the revolt of those who do not like either is inevitable; this is also shown by the student protests in North Macedonia and Albania in the last decade,” said activist and student Doli for Perspektiva Plus.
Auroni added that he views the achievement of massification and the large extent of the protests in Belgrade as very positive. He also noted that some student organizers have adopted an anti-nationalist approach, which he believes contributes to the solidarity of the young people in the entire region. This solidarity, he believes, will aid in the fight against chauvinism and what he called Serbian fascism. He believes that such mobilizations pushed by young people will be able to change not only the political spirit in Serbia but also beyond.
“The positive aspect of student protests and blockades in Serbia is that it has achieved a geographical and demographic expansion, i.e., massification, and most importantly, the union of workers with union actions (even with strikes) in the wake of protests and blockades. Also positive is the fact that some of the students at the head of the protests there (I know some of them) have an anti-nationalist approach, and I see this as potential, especially in two areas that are the inspiration that can be given to other student movements in the region and the regional solidarity that could be created, which had fought chauvinism, vulgar nationalism, and fascism (especially the Serbian one). If these movements succeed in mobilizing and exerting sufficient pressure, they can change not only the political dynamics in Serbia but also challenge neoliberal policies and corruption in the entire region. The Balkans need another policy that is based on class solidarity and the democratic approach,” said Doli exclusively for Perspektiva Plus in Pristina.
18-year-old Miodrag Denić, a student of the last year of high school in Zvečan and a citizen from the Serb community, born and raised in Kosovo who used to live near to Gracanica and now lives in North Mitrovica, says that he feels amazed that young people are out there on the streets protesting yet he does not see change as something guaranteed.
“Does this protest make me believe in change? It will be so hard. There are some options, for example: they’re going to protest but Vučić is going to do nothing, that’s option one. Option two is that if the police forces are going against Vučić, will there be a change? There are several options at stake. You never know what can happen nowadays. I feel amazed that everyday there are young and new people coming to the stage. That’s a great thing to begin with for a better future. So maybe it’s going to be possible to see a change, or perhaps Vučić is too strong to be removed from the government”, says Miodrag.
The eighteen-year-old Miodrag says that he doesn’t see himself in the future living in Serbia hence isn’t as inspired by the protests necessarily, yet he believes that due to the young generations the region will be more prosperous in peace-building and less focused in creating conflict. As for the government in Serbia, he sees it as fully corrupted and that the fall of the leader of such a ruling cast can be done only if other groups of the society get together against the government, other than the youngsters only.
“As for whether I feel inspired by the greatness in numbers these protests have gotten, I feel inspired that so many youngsters are getting more and more supporters. It’s too much for the government there. But in general, I don’t feel inspired because I’m not there. My father lives now in Serbia and I have some friends in Serbia, and they don’t care about Kosovo that much. I would say that I don’t feel inspired but I feel very amazed by these people. I don’t see myself in Serbia to live or work there. Do I support these youngsters? Yes. It’s the youth that can change this type of generational era. It’s going to be more peace, and less conflict. As for the protest if doctors, nurses, and especially police forces go against Vučić, it’s going to be very hard, but if this happens, he’s going to go down for sure. Students are fighting and are on the right side. There’s so much corruption, so much money laundering”, ended Miodrag by saying once asked by Perspektiva Plus in Kosovo.
Taulantina Xhyrishevci, 19 years old, a second-year student in political science who comes from the city of Gjilan, told Perspektiva:
“I think that the protests in Belgrade reflect the social and political tensions that have accompanied Serbia in the last decade, taking into account the great concerns of citizens there, taking into account the decreased freedom of speech, the corruption, and the poor governance quality. Peaceful protests are the core of genuine democracy and these youngsters are proving this in the best possible way by protesting peacefully and boycotting the lessons in their faculties. The messages conveyed by these students are very powerful. We, as countries in the region, must support these messages. I believe that these protests will either give a very strong echo, or they will bring no results in the end. No in between” concluded Taulantina for Perspektiva Plus.
Author: Hanmie Lohaj
