The biggest protest in Serbian history happened on 15th March in the capital Belgrade. The upper estimate is 800,000 people; the entire population of Serbia is less than seven million. It was a culmination of four and a half months of big and small protests in almost all cities, towns and villages all over the country. Student and farmers’ marches and blockades and a teachers’ strike took place following the collapsed roof at the train station in the city of Novi Sad and widespread revulsion at the corruption that is believed to lie behind the country’s poor infrastructure.
The Belgrade protest on 15th March was regarded by many people as the “D day”. People were saying, “this time we don’t go home until it’s done”, and this time “don’t bring your children or pets with you”. But the protest ended before the night came and the hated President Aleksandar Vučić is still standing. There was an attack on the peaceful demonstration, during the 15 minute silence (for 15 victims who died under the collapsed rail station roof). A sonic cannon was used by the police, to spread horror among protesters, thus committing a terrorist act against their own people.
For days before the 15th, thousands of students from all over Serbia marched to Belgrade on foot, along with thousands others who were organising transport to the capital city. But the regime took predictable tricks to stop people reaching Belgrade: coaches and trains were cancelled, many roads were blocked by “roadworks” and huge lines of cars were held at toll stations. Without the obstructions the protest would have been even bigger.
For many days, Vučić had been warning of violence that would erupt during the protest, instigated by the students, despite the fact that all previous protests had been peaceful. The only violence that had occurred was caused by Vučić’s thugs. He had a few hundred of his “loyalists” encamped in the central location in Belgrade, close to the parliament building. The “camp city” was surrounded with tractors that were brought to Belgrade on lorries. Neither the lorries nor tractors had number plates. The campers called themselves “students who want to study”, as if objecting to the university blockades. But it was clear to everybody that, apart from just a few, nobody among them was a student. They were a disparate group of thugs, known to the people from smaller towns where they came from. There were also among their number many poor people from the margins of society who welcomed free food and money for just being there.
Many people guessed that Vučić was “predicting” his own violence, which he would then use as an excuse for enforcing a martial law, as a way of staying in power. Vučić knows well that his regime is shaken. But because his mafia style regime is so soaked in blood and corruption, he also knows that only the immunity of a government position is preventing prosecution charges against him. It is being speculated that he might try to flee; it’s known that his children are abroad and that some former ministers “disappeared” and then suddenly appeared as residents of luxury villas in Italy, for example. Vučić claims that he will never leave, that he will “defend Serbia” till death, apparently identifying “Serbia” with his regime.
On the 15th March, a few hours after the huge gathering and into the 12th minute of the vigil, a strange and very loud sound penetrated the crowd. Protesters described the noise like cars being driven into them or a plane crashing onto them. People instinctively ran to the side to allow “that something” to pass. Some were injured and many people required medical treatment for headache, nausea or loss of hearing. One man suffered a heart attack and later died. The regime denied the use of a sonic cannon, first claiming they did not possess any. Then the minister for the police said they had them but never used them. A couple of days later one policeman claimed there were a few sonic devices stationed in different locations in Belgrade that day. Some medical staff in hospitals were seen taking notes about those patients complaining of their symptoms. A crackdown on any talk about the sonic cannon was obviously ordered.
There is a lot of speculation of the nature of Vučić’s intentions for the day, some very credible. It is thought that he wanted to cause a stampede, which his thugs, hidden in the “camp city”, would use to attack the protesters with stones (that were seen lying ready on the streets). The police would intervene and extreme violence would take place; creating a scenario for the imposition of martial law.
But this did not happen. People ran for cover towards buildings rather than along the street, where thugs could attack them. The student organisers also quickly called an end to the protest. The stewarding has been highly organised and important in defending from police violence, which is very likely to be increased in the next protests.
Vučić bragged of “defeating the colour revolution”, implying that the whole protest movement was orchestrated by outside powers hostile to his regime. But that is nonsense. It’s neither a colour revolution, nor did he defeat it. If anything, the movement seems more determined after the event.
Vučić knows that this is not a colour revolution. That name is given to uprisings supported from the west, against rulers who do not act in western interests. Vučić readily serves western interests, but also Russian or Chinese, or any other country that wants to exploit Serbian resources, that also benefit Serbian capitalists and corrupt politicians. To Putin, Vučić complains about a colour revolution while to western leaders he blames pro-Russian forces for the uprising.
The protests have not stopped. Students are organising another big protest for 4th April. But it feels like something has changed and that the mood is sharper. With their marches through towns and villages in the last months, students had managed to mobilise the population. Now something else very significant is going on. Inspired by the success of student “plenums” (assemblies), the students have called the general population to organise on a similar model. In a week since “the 15th” there have been numerous local assemblies throughout the country. The assemblies have their own demands, like resignations of leading local councillors, who are invariably from the ruling party. Assemblies often include an “egg throwing event” too, with expensive haircuts and suits of the hated corrupt councillors ruined.
Cracks in the state have started to open. In the city of Niš, in southern Serbia, after one such “egg event”, several people were arrested. However they were released quickly as the authorities refused to prosecute them. Vučić is now threatening the police officers with dismissals, and all other police officers who don’t “defend the state”, increasing oppression and police violence. Vučić is behaving like a wounded beast who knows his time is up and is leashing out in desperation. One former police officer has written an open letter to the police, asking them not to be afraid of the “very scared individual” who is making them protect criminals and at the same time beat up their own people who they themselves are part of.
The teachers have been on strike for months. The regime stopped their pay for the last two months. The teachers are surviving thanks to donations from working people in Serbia and the diaspora. The teachers union is calling for other unions to join them but unfortunately this has been painfully missing so far. Workers are afraid for their jobs; many have been sacked just by expressing solidarity with the students. Students have also called on workers and unions to support them from the start. Significantly, it was announced on 25 March that five union centres have had a meeting with the students and came out in official support. In the short statement it also says that this is the first time unions will act together to change the anti-worker employment and strike laws. This development might be huge for the future of the movement, especially if it translates into active support of the teachers’ strike.
The solidarity that the movement has received from the neighbouring countries, thirty years after a bitter war between them, is also significant. But that has also moved on. Students in Zagreb, Croatia, have also started organising assemblies, as they are unhappy about tuition fees. Tragically, on the same evening as the Belgrade protest, an illegal nightclub burned in North Macedonia, killing fifty nine young people. Solidarity from the whole of the Balkans poured into North Macedonia. The students and working people in North Macedonia immediately started organising assemblies, demanding resignations and prosecutions and an end to corruption. This might not have happened so quickly if the model had not already existed in Serbia.The re-awakened solidarity among students and working people in the Balkans could turn decisive in the coming days of geopolitical sharpening of knives in the region, Europe as a whole, and the world. Serbian students have not received support from any capitalist establishment and no wonder. Vučić went on another friendly visit to Brussels, no doubt again promising access to Sebia’s lithium reserves. The EU has lost all credibility among people in Serbia.
Trump’s son also visited Vučić in Belgrade the week before. He confirmed the support for the regime by the US and no doubt talked about the building of a “Trump hotel” in the central location in Belgrade. Russia is also giving support to Vučić.
The Serbian movement has no friends abroad other than working people. This is because, by rejecting the corrupt, comprador government at home, the mass protests also reject its dirty dealings with imperialist powers. By distancing the protest movement from the official opposition, which is predominantly pro-EU, and some nationalist parties, they reject both liberalism and nationalism. Students have from the start supported the anti-lithium mining movement, which in essence is an anti-imperialist movement, and the two are now thoroughly connected.
No imperialist power can save Vučić from his own people. They would have by now supported a “friendly” opposition leader with a chance of winning against Vučić, had such a leader existed. But the official opposition is not popular and the protesting students have no leaders who could be corrupted. So they are stuck with Vučić.
The protest movement in Serbia has grown significantly and more parts of the population are taking concrete action. The “people’s assemblies” could start to form parallel institutions, preparing for the “day after”. They should call on workers to start organising in their workplaces in a similar way, forming “workers’ councils” or “workers’ action committees” that would by-pass some corrupt union leaders who are still wedded to the regime. ‘Workers’ councils’ existed in the former Yugoslavia in all workplaces, so it’s not an alien concept for many older workers, in particular. This time they need to be completely run from the bottom-up and not stifled by bureaucracy. Rank and file democratic control of workers’ councils would ensure genuine representation of what workers want, with the right of immediate recall of elected representatives if needed. Such bodies linking up on a local, regional and national scale, and closely allying with the student organisations, would be the basis for a powerful alternative to the regime.
Mass actions aimed at bringing society to a halt, including a general strike, could get a powerful echo at the moment. Student organisations, local assemblies and those unions prepared to take action, like the teachers, could lead the way, calling for strike action to fully isolate the government and for its resignation. This would pose the question of who should run society and on whose behalf. A government genuinely based on the sentiments of the mass movement and wider population would be anti-corruption, anti-privatisation, anti-imperialist, anti-poverty, and pro-worker, student and poor.
The movement has already by-passed the constraints of capitalist “parliamentary democracy”. But students and workers’ consciousness of their own power and ideas about the nature of a future society are inevitably lagging behind. “Peoples’ assemblies”, “workers’ councils”, and student protest bodies and networks can all offer both a precious experience and the building blocks of that society.
Najveći protest u srpskoj istoriji desio se 15. marta u Beogradu. Gornja procena je 800.000 ljudi; celokupno stanovništvo Srbije broji ispod sedam miliona. Bila je to kulminacija četiri i po meseca velikih i malih protesta u gotovo svim gradovima, mestima i selima širom zemlje. Organizovani su studentski i poljoprivredni marševi i blokade i štrajkovi prosvetara, povodom urušene nadstrešnice na železničkoj stanici u Novom Sadu i sveokupne ogorčenosti na korupciju za koju se veruje da je odgovorna za bedno i nesigurno stanje infrastrukture.
Mnogi su isčekivali beogradski protest 15. marta kao „dan D“. Ljudi su govorili, ovog puta ne idemo kući dok se ne završi, i ovaj put nemojte voditi svoju decu ili kućne ljubimce sa sobom. Ali protest se završio pre nego što je pala noć a omraženi predsednik Vučić je i dalje tu. Došlo je do napada na mirne demonstracije, tokom 15 minuta ćutnje (za 15 žrtava pod nadstrešnicom), nekom vrstom zvučnog topa koji je proširio paniku među demonstrantima, čime je izvršen teroristički akt nad sopstvenim narodom.
Danima pre 15. marta hiljade studenata iz cele Srbije pešačilo je do Beograda, zajedno sa hiljadama običnih ljudi koji su organizovali prevoz do glavnog grada. Ali režim je preduzeo sada predvidljive trikove da spreči narod da stignu do Beograda: autobusi i vozovi su ukinuti, mnogi putevi su blokirani „radovima na putu“, a velike kolone automobila držane su na naplatnim stanicama. Bez ovih opstrukcija protest bi bio još veći.
Vučić je danima upozoravao na nasilje koje će izbiti tokom protesta, koje će navodno isprovocirati studenti, uprkos činjenici da su svi prethodni protesti bili mirni i da su jedino nasilje izazivali njegovi batinaši. Nekoliko stotina svojih „lojalista“ je ulogorio u parku blizu skupštine, popularno nazvan „ćacilend“. Park je tada opkoljen traktorima koji su kamionima dovezeni u Beograd. Ni kamioni ni traktori nisu imali registarske tablice. Lojalisti su sebe nazivali „studentima koji žele da uče“, što se navodno odnosilo na blokade univerziteta. Ali svima je bilo jasno da, osim nekolicine, niko tamo nije bio student. Vučić je sakupio lokalne ološe i batinaše, poznate ljudima iz manjih mesta odakle su došli, ali i mnoge siromašne ljude sa margine društva koji su jedva dočekali besplatnu hranu i novčanu naknadu za ulogu „studenata“.
Mnogi su nagađali da Vučić „predviđa“ sopstveno nasilje, koje će onda iskoristiti kao izgovor za uvođenje vanrednog stanja, u cilju opstanka na vlasti. Vučić dobro zna da mu je režim poljuljan. Ali pošto je njegov mafijaški režim toliko natopljen krvlju i korupcijom, on takođe zna da samo imunitet koji pruža pozicija u vlasti sprečava optužbe protiv njega. Spekuliše se da bi mogao da pokuša da pobegne; zna se da su mu deca u inostranstvu i da su neki bivši ministri „nestali“, a onda se iznenada pojavili kao stanari luksuznih vila u Italiji, na primer. Vučić, međutim, poručuje da nikada neće otići, da će „braniti Srbiju” do smrti, očigledno identifikujući „Srbiju” sa svojim režimom.
15. marta, nekoliko sati posle velikog okupljanja i u 12. minutu tišine, u masu je prodro čudan i veoma glasan zvuk, koji su ljudi opisivali kao da u njih uleću automobili ili da se na njih urušava avion. Ljudi su instinktivno počeli da trče po strani, dozvoljavajući „tom nečemu“ da prođe. Neki su bili povređeni u toj jurnjavi, dok je mnogima kasnije bila potrebna medicinska pomoć zbog glavobolje, mučnine ili gubitka sluha. Jedan čovek je doživeo srčani udar i kasnije preminuo. Režim je negirao upotrebu zvučnog topa, prvo tvrdeći da ga ne poseduju. Onda je ministar policije rekao da ih imaju, ali da ih nikada nisu koristili. Nekoliko dana kasnije jedan policajac je tvrdio da je tog dana bilo nekoliko zvučnih uređaja na različitim lokacijama u Beogradu. Medicinsko osoblje u bolnicama je viđeno da vodi beleške o pacijentima koji se žale na simptome. Očigledno je bilo naređeno suzbijanje svakog razgovora o zvučnom topu.
Ima mnogo spekulacija o prirodi Vučićevih namera za taj dan, neke vrlo verodostojne. Smatra se da je hteo da izazove stampedo koji bi njegovi batinaši, sakriveni u „ćacilendu“, iskoristili da napadnu demonstrante kamenicama (koje su ležale spremne na ulicama), intervenisala bi policija, došlo bi do žestokog nasilja, što bi sve stvorilo scenario za uvođenje vanrednog stanja.
Ali to se nije dogodilo iz razloga što su ljudi trčali bočno prema zgradama, a ne duž ulice, i što su studentski redari brzo prekinuli protest. Redari su do sada uvek bili odlično organizovani u odbrani protiv policijskog nasilja, što će i ubuduće biti od velike važnosti jer je moguće da će to nasilje biti još pojačano.
Vučić se posle hvalio da je „pobedio obojenu revoluciju“ ali to je besmislica. Niti se radi o obojenoj revoluciji, niti ju je on pobedio. Ako ništa drugo, pokret i odlučnost se čine još jači nakon događaja.
Vučić naravno zna da ovo nije obojena revolucija. Tako se nazivaju pobune koje podržava zapad, protiv vladara koji ne deluju za zapadne interese, na primer u Ukrajini 2014. Vučić i te kako služi zapadnim interesima, ali i ruskim ili kineskim, ili bilo kome drugom ko pokazuje interesovanje za srpske resurse, što takođe koristi i srpskim kapitalistima i korumpiranim političarima. Vučić se Putinu žali na obojenu revoluciju, dok zapadnim liderima za ustanak krivi proruske snage.
Protesti nisu ni najmanje utihnuli. Studenti organizuju još jedan veliki za 4. april. Ali oseća se da se nešto promenilo i da je raspoloženje oštrije. Svojim marševima kroz gradove i sela poslednjih meseci studenti su uspeli da mobilišu stanovništvo. Sada se dešava nešto drugo veoma značajno. Inspirisani uspehom svojih plenuma, studenti su pozvali narod da se organizuje po sličnom modelu. Za nedelju dana, od 15. marta, održani su brojni lokalni zborovi širom zemlje. Zborovi imaju svoje zahteve, poput ostavki lokalnih vodećih odbornika, koji su gotovo uvek iz vladajuće stranke. Zborovi često uključuju i „jajarenje“, sa do sada mnogo uništenih frizura ili skupih odela omraženih lokalnih kabadahija.
Počele su da se otvaraju pukotine u državnom vrhu. U Nišu, posle jednog ovakvog „jajarenja” uhapšeno je nekoliko osoba. Međutim, oni su brzo pušteni pošto je tužilaštvo odbilo da ih krivično goni. Vučić im sada preti otkazima, zajedno sa svim policajcima koji „ne brane poredak“, najavljujući tako pojačanu opresiju i policijsko nasilje. Vučić se ponaša kao ranjena zver koja zna da mu vreme ističe i koja saterana u ćošak reži i vitla kandžama. Jedan bivši policajac je uputio otvoreno pismo policajcima, u kom od njih traži da se ne boje „njegovog vrhovnog Preplašenstva“ koji im zapoveda da štite kriminalce dok istovremeno biju svoj narod kom i sami pripadaju.
Nastavnici štrajkuju već mesecima, jedini sektor radnika kojeg podržava njihov sindikat. Režim im je ukinuo plate za poslednja dva meseca. Učitelji preživljavaju zahvaljujući donacijama radnih ljudi u Srbiji i dijaspori. Sindikat nastavnika poziva druge sindikate da im se pridruže, ali nažalost to još uvek nedostaje. Radnici se plaše za svoj posao; mnogi su otpušteni samo zato što su izrazili solidarnosti sa studentima. Studenti su takođe pozvali radnike i sindikate da ih podrže od samog početka. Novija i značajna vest je da je pet sindikalnih centara održalo sastanak sa studentima i da su izjavili zvaničnu podršku. U kratkom saopštenju se takođe navodi da je ovo prvi put da će sindikati zajedno delovati na promeni zakona o radu i štrajku. Ovo bi moglo mnogo da doprinese budućnosti pokreta, posebno ako se realizuje i kao aktivna podrška štrajku nastavnika.
Značajna je i solidarnost koju je pokret dobio od susednih zemalja, trideset godina nakon gorkog rata između njih. Ali i to se pomaklo sa te tačke. Studenti u Zagrebu su takođe počeli da sami sazivaju plenume nezadovoljni visokim školarinama. Na veliku žalost, u Severnoj Makedoniji se desila tragedija iste večeri kada i beogradski protest, gde je izgoreo nelegalni noćni klub i poginulo pedeset i devet mladih ljudi. Solidarnost sa celog Balkana slila se u Severnu Makedoniju. Studenti i obični ljudi u Severnoj Makedoniji odmah su počeli da organizuju plenume, zahrevajući ostavke i optužnice za odgovorne i kraj korupciji. To se možda ne bi dogodilo tako brzo da model već nije postojao u Srbiji.
Ponovo probuđena solidarnost među studentima i radnim ljudima na Balkanu mogla bi da postane odlučujuća u narednim danima geopolitičkog zaoštravanja noževa u regionu, Evropi u celini i svetu. Srpski studenti nisu dobili podršku nijednog kapitalističkog establišmenta i nije ni čudo. Vučić je otišao u još jednu prijateljsku posetu Briselu, bez sumnje ponovo obećavajući srpske rezerve litijuma. EU je izgubila svaki kredibilitet među ljudima u Srbiji.
Trampov sin je takođe posetio Vučića u Beogradu nedelju dana ranije. Potvrdio je američku podršku režimu i bez sumnje se govorilo o izgradnji „Tramp hotela” na centralnoj lokaciji u Beogradu. Podršku Vučiću daje i Rusija.
Srpski pokret nema prijatelja u inostranstvu osim radnih ljudi. To je zato što, odbacujući korumpiranu kompradorsku vladu kod kuće, masovni protesti odbacuju i njene prljave poslove sa imperijalističkim silama. Distancirajući se od zvanične opozicije, koja je pretežno pro-EU, i nekih nacionalističkih partija, oni odbacuju i liberalizam i nacionalizam. Studenti su od samog početka podržavali pokret protiv kopanja litijuma, koji je u suštini anti-imperijalistički, i ta dva pokreta su sada temeljno povezana.
Ni jedna imperijalistička sila neće moći da spase Vučića od sopstvenog naroda. One bi do sada sigurno podržale „prijateljskog“ opozicionog lidera sa šansom da pobedi Vučića, da je takav lider postojao. Ali zvanična opozicija nije popularna i studenti koji protestuju nemaju lidere koji bi mogli biti korumpirani. Imperijalne sile tako nemaju drugu opciju nego da podržavaju Vučića.
Protestni pokret u Srbiji je značajno narastao i sve veći deo stanovništva preduzima konkretne akcije. Narodni zborovi bi mogli da počnu da formiraju paralelne institucije, pripremajući se za „dan posle”. Treba pozvati radnike da počnu da se organizuju na svojim radnim mestima na sličan način, formirajući radničke savete ili „radne komitete” koji bi zaobišli korumpirane sindikalne vođe koji su još uvek u sprezi sa režimom. Radnički saveti su postojali u bivšoj Jugoslaviji na svim radnim mestima, tako da to nije nepoznat koncept, posebno za mnoge starije radnike. Ovog puta upravljanje u radničkim savetima mora biti potpuno odozdo, bez birokratije koja će ih gušiti. Redovna demokratska kontrola radničkih saveta bi obezbedila istinsko zastupanje radničkih interesa, uz pravo na momentalni opoziv izabranih predstavnika, ako i kada bude potrebno. Ovakva tela koja se povezuju na lokalnom i nacionalnom nivou, i blisko povezana sa studentskim organizacijama, bila bi osnova za moćnu alternativu režimu.
Masovne akcije koje imaju za cilj blokadu funkcionisanja celog društva, uključujući generalni štrajk, mogle bi u ovom trenutku da imaju snažan odjek. Studentske organizacije, lokalni zborovi zajedno sa onim sindikatima koji su spremni za delovanje, poput nastavnika, mogli bi da prednjače u pozivu na štrajk kako bi se u potpunosti izolovala vlast i zahtevati njenu ostavku. U tom slučaju bi se postavilo pitanje ko treba da vodi društvo i u čije ime. Vlada koja bi istinski bila zasnovana na idejama masovnog pokreta bila bi antikorupcijska, anti-imperijalistička, protiv privatizacija i siromaštva i pro-radnička, studentska i narodna.
Pokret je već zaobišao ograničenja kapitalističke „parlamentarne demokratije“. Ali svest studenata i radnika o sopstvenoj moći i idejama o prirodi budućeg društva neizbežno zaostaju. Narodni zborovi, radnički saveti i studentski plenumi mogu da ponude kako dragoceno iskustvo tako i osnovice tog društva.
Zadovoljiti se kapitalističkom parlamentarnom demokratijom značilo bi prepustiti uzde stranom ili domaćem kapitalu, jer to je ono što kapitalizam jeste. Za uspešnu trajnu i temeljnu promenu režima i sistema potreban je nezavisni klasni pristup i socijalističke ideje i programi. To znači zagovaranje politike u korist običnih ljudi, radničke klase i studenata i njihovih potreba za domovima, dobrim i sigurnim poslovima, besplatnom obrazovanju za sve, besplatnim i dostupnim zdravstvenim sistemom. To bi zahtevalo poništavanje svih privatizacija i uspostavljanje socijalističkog sistema koji se zasniva na potrebama običnih ljudi, a ne na profitu krupnog kapitala. Istrajne masovne demonstracije poslednjih meseci, sa novoformiranim istinski demokratskim organizacijama koje zagovaraju potrebe običnog radnog naroda, daju priliku da se izgradi snažna socijalistička politička alternativa korumpiranoj pro-kapitalističkoj politici koja ide u korist samo bogatašima. Važno je da se pokret svesno orijentiše u tom pravcu, što bi obezbedilo da dosadašnji trud i dostignuća steknu čvrstu podlogu. To bi ponudilo jasnu viziju i otklonilo opasnost od umora i dezorijentacije masovnog pokreta, što bi režim, ili neke druge kapitalističke snage, iskoristili da preuzmu inicijativu.
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