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of control, driven by some madness! Jumping into the parliament building just because I want to? Come on! That’s not normal. And yes, the police need to react to that and protect the institution,” Mihajlo told bne IntelliNews, adding that is very well known who did that and who paid them to do so.
“Dveri and their former big star Nogo!
It is not a secret that they get money from Russia to block any development
of Serbia into a modern society. These are same people that, together with hooligans [sports fan groups] attack the gay population, hate national minorities, migrants, every non-traditional- patriarchal-Serb! Vucic needs to get rid of them somehow,” he said.
He didn’t comment on the risks of future infections caused by protest saying that, as a doctor, doesn’t even dare to think about that.
Angry voices
Vladimir S., a waiter in a prestigious Belgrade restaurant, told bne IntelliNews that the protests are exactly what Vucic deserves because people are sick of
his lies and manipulation. Vladimir was furious during the conversation, claiming that everything bad in his life is Vucic’s fault.
“People are tired of his humiliation! I went to the deepest low by taking this job even though I am an expert in a rare field. But, I can’t do it because I’m not a member of his Serbian Progressive Party. So, I had to humiliate myself and go to work in a restaurant for minimal pay and pray for a good tip! This mess and broken streets is exactly what Belgrade deserves. And that false corona drama! Hey, what corona? I hate this job but I make decent money to live a normal life. I do not really want to lose it too, like I lost the one that I loved!” he yelled.
Asked by the reporter if he voted on June 21, he yelled again saying that the election was “fake BS” and that everybody knew that Vucic would win. Asked again why he still didn’t vote as there were 20 more lists besides the SNS’ that offered options from the
extreme right to the extreme left, he responded:
“Why? He would still steal and win! He is a liar and manipulator!”
The reporter further asked him if he
is aware that it is not really possible to steal that much as the SNS won almost four-fifths of the seats in the parliament, he reacted:
“Those are votes of idiots – retired retards manipulated by Vucic!”
Asked again if he know that, in the end, citizens will pay for the reconstruction of the destroyed city (though taxes and increased prices), he said:
“They are getting nothing from me!”
Ivan, a manager in an export-import company, has similar feelings. He told bne IntelliNews that he is sick of Vucic and his people and thus wants to express his revulsion on the streets.
“It is my right to protest against a regime I do not like. I didn’t vote because I hoped the people would see what Vucic does and massively boycott the election. This didn’t happen as ‘sheep’ voted. Now we have nothing else to do but to protest for democracy,” he said.
Marija T., an administrative worker, believes also protests are her democratic right and only way forward for Serbia is to get rid of Vucic.
“This is just the beginning and we must not stop! We have to free Belgrade and Serbia. We are stronger than corona. And, no one can play with us – locking us down, then letting us do whatever than again locking us down. Sorry, Vucic, I’m not scared of you and your swindlers in police uniforms!” she told bne IntelliNews.
Sadly, no one at the demonstrations appeared to have thought about the virus, which was likely being spread widely, and how dangerous it could be to join such a mass gathering, especially as on the same day a record number of patients tested positive for coronavirus in Serbia.
The far right joins in
While the protesters had legitimate grievances, a group of far-rightists also turned up to the protest on the evening of July 7. They were led by Nogo, a loud anti-vaxxer and opponent of closer
ties between Serbia and the West but a strong supporter of “brotherhood” with Russia. In the 2018 and 2019 “1 of 5 million’ anti-government protests, Nogo showed up with a noose, symbolically trying to express his feelings for Vucic. He was also calling on people to “hunt migrants”. Nogo was in the front line of the violent entrance into the parliament building on July 7.
There are clear signs of conflict between regular protesters and those from far- right groups. Leaders of the right-wing opposition Alliance for Serbia (SZS), for example, tried to join the protesters but other people kicked them out.
The narrative from far-right groups
is that the protesters who challenged them weren't ordinary citizens but plain-clothes police who had infiltrated the protests. At the beginning of the July 8 rally, SZS representative Janko Veselinovic warned about “political provocateurs” and claimed “criminals” infiltrated the protest, N1 reported. After the first protest, a warning from
a former cop (who is now a partner of Dveri and the far-right) went viral. He told people that when he was a cop in the 90s he learned that the government would put its own people in civilian clothes to cause fights among protesters.
The reprieve on July 9 when the peaceful faction of the protesters seemed to have prevailed didn’t last long. The day after, violence came back to the streets of Belgrade. Protesters and hooligans mixed completely and
is not possible anymore to see the legitimate side of the protests because of the violence that the minority – which is much louder than the majority – of protesters chose as its tool to fight against the regime. Open attacks on the police, cursing them, hitting them with rocks and torches was the main picture from July 10. Even media that were fairly reporting on previous days got lost as to who were the protesters, who were
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