“Did they hit the police? Did they break through the blockade? Try approaching an officer and slapping him,” said Interior Minister Ivica Dačić about the situation in Užice and the arrests of protestors. He claims the individuals were not detained for protesting but for assaulting police.
On Wednesday, seven people arrested in Užice were sentenced to 30 days of detention after a highway blockade in the city took place. Yesterday, two more joined them in custody. Among them are prominent student activist Pavle Cicvarić as well as Radovan Novaković, a lawyer and city councilor. Legal professionals quickly mobilized in response as the Bar Association of Serbia (AKS) launched a three-day nationwide strike in protest of the detention of their colleague.
Vladimir Prijović, a member of the AKS Governing Board, told media outlet N1 that the decision to stop work for three days is meant to “draw attention to the illegality of detaining a fellow lawyer in Užice, to show solidarity, and to protest against the unlawful actions of state authorities – particularly the judiciary in this case.”
Citizens also showed support for the detainees: a large protest was held Wednesday in Užice. At the protest, Radovan Cicvarić, the father of student Pavle Cicvarić, declared that “tonight Užice is the center of the struggle for freedom in Serbia.” He added that “the evil that has imprisoned the people of Užice is the same evil that has imprisoned the rest of the population.”
“In fighting that evil, we must all participate and set aside our differences. If fate has decided that the fight for Serbia’s freedom begins in Užice – then so be it,” Cicvarić said.
Instilling Fear: Protests as “Terrorism”
A similar situation has been unfolding in the central city of Kraljevo. On Wednesday, the opposition in that city walked out of a municipal assembly session after holding up a banner reading “Justice for Ivan” and speaking against the ruling Serbian Progressive Party councilors.
The banner refers to Ivan Matović, who was arrested along with five others on suspicion that he had planned to “violently overthrow the constitutional order” during the St. Vitus protest. Five others were also detained, and one was placed under house arrest with electronic monitoring.
Among those arrested were former Military Union president Novica Antić and Ivan Matović, a representative of the opposition group “Starosedeoci” (“Natives”) in Kraljevo, as well as veterans who support the student movement. Two students share the same fate. In short, critics of the government are again being targeted.
Yesterday, the court upheld the appeal of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade and ordered 30-day detention for them as well, according to the state media outlet, Radio Television Serbia.
Just before St. Vitus, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Ana Brnabić announced that “arrests, detentions, and identification of terrorist organizations” would continue. President Aleksandar Vučić proclaimed that “people now understand that violence is their [protestors’] ultimate goal.”
This scenario is strongly reminiscent of the events in March of this year, when activists in Novi Sad faced a similar crackdown ahead of a major protest in Belgrade. At that time, regime-affiliated media were actively paving the way for repression with ominous reports.
Based on an illegally obtained audio recording aired on pro-government television, Novi Sad activists and students ended up in prison cells. After two grueling months of mass protests, a hunger and thirst strike, and persistent public pressure, all the individuals were all released.
It now appears that seems a similar scenario is playing out again. Citizens will once more have to seek justice in the streets. In line with that, a blockade of institutions in Užice was announced yesterday. As one lawyer previously put it: “We have to act outside of institutions, because the institutions don’t listen to us.”
It appears that once again, justice for the arrested “terrorists” will come slowly. And yet, it also seems that the current authorities – despite the way activists were liberated in Novi Sad – still have not learned their lesson. Their attempts to instill fear tend to backfire and inevitably lead instead to solidarity among citizens. In this political climate, intensified repression does not instill fear and silence but instead courage and resolve.
M.B., A.M.
