As the asphalt shimmer of Belgrade in blistering in 40 degrees sunlight, the city is breaking for a very different child’s heat: students have staged a more big protest for Saturday.
Everyone’s eyes are in the Serbian capital, and both anticipation and uncertainty are increasing across the country as students are tight about their plans and exact places and time of performance.
There is the ability to have a significant turn in protest as the students have issued that they are calling the Serbian government an “ultimatum”, demanding an announcement by 9 pm on June 28, asking that the government would ask the President to dissolve the Parliament, pave the way for the Snap election.
The students wrote an open letter to the Serbian government, “The demands given should not be met within the time -limit, we hope that the citizens of Serbia will be ready to take all available measures of civil disobedience to protect their fundamental rights for an independent and legitimate democratic system.”
Important date for protest
The upcoming protest comes after months, during which students and citizens have demanded political and criminal accountability for the collapse of the canopy last November at the entrance of Novi Sad railway station, killing 16 people.
The day selected for the protest carries special weight in Serbia.
Vidovdan is a national and religious holiday that lies in Serbian history and mythology on 28 June, it often coincides with decisive events and historical twist points in search of the history of the country, which is 1389 Battle of Kosovo and many important events in the 20th century.
University under pressure
Meanwhile, the government has increased pressure on universities.
Now for four Mont months, the university professors have lived at one-east of their salary as the government refuses to pay the salary for the period during which the student was caught by the class due to the blockade.
The state emphasizes that unpaid salary will be paid only on missing sections. The university is now scrambled to do the blockade continues.
While some have moved to online lectures, others are distributing reading materials and hoping that students will manage on their own.
In institutions where practice skills are an essential part of the course, professors have warned that these solutions are academic and legally unacceptable.
“This is evident for professors who pretend to teach professors, who are not participating in search teaching and most for the state who forces us as this,” says Jelna Clate, a professor of the Faculty of philosophy in Novi Sad.
“The only appropriate response search is to reject teaching, and some colleagues have just done that – regardless of the results,” she told DW.
Students tolerate brunt
But the heaviest burden is generated by students’ subjects. Many are refusing to go with the search forms of tuition, even though the end of the academic year is almost and no one knows what will bat next.
“If the state starts taking vengeance against students, we can end up with repeating the whole year and losing our student’s position. I don’t think it will happen – the measure will be too big – but we have seen that the government does the things that we once thought of,” says Clayt.
High school seniors face even more uncertainty: instead of preparing for the university entrance exam, they are waiting to see what the state will do. The government has yet to authorize universities to enroll new students.
Clay seems unacceptable that thesis students are used as claws in a deadlock between the government and academics.
“But they have been a very rebellious part of the society, they also blocked their high school.
Target student colleagues
Damper is spreading in Serbia – not only to target protesters, but therefore anyone has supported them in the last eight months.
Three teachers were fired to suspend classes in solidarity with students at Svetozar Military High School in small town of Sribran. One of them was Slavika Philipvic, who has helped 24 -year -old students to graduate from high school.
“I tilted everyone deeply and closed my class,” he wrote on Facebook. “It was amazing as your teacher. It really enriched my life. Remember: Learn, learn, becaus knowledge cannot be taken from you.
Without warning, the government canceled the tax encouragement for the IT sector, one of the most vigorous supporters of protests and a major source of support for unpaid teachers.
Cultural institutions have faced coniferous. Those who supported the students – by expressing solidarity, going on strike or protesting – have lost government funds.
“The government clearly has a problem with some parts of the society where the whole community stands against it. Everyone who does not clearly support the present government is punished,” the Gojco is Bojovic, the founder and the Prime Minister’s House called Arhiplg.
Protests continue
But despite all this, people in Serbia are not backing down. Every day at 11:52 am – The exact minute of the canopy in Novi Sad collapsed – protesters stop traffic and block roads. In silence and perseverance, they honor the victims and refuse to forget the tragedy – such as many others before.
Students believe that the only route of justice is a new political distribution of power. They say that they are fully aware of Serbia and results of DEPRY irregular electoral concepts in engineering, but believe that the united front across the society can shake the ruling Serbia Progressive Party (SNS).
They come to Kozeric and Zajekar in the recent local elections, where SNS won a narrow gap.
Vucic firmly
However, President Alexander Person is adamant that there will be no election hero before 2026. Can the student find him to move?
Those who used to talk to DW suspect. Professor Clayt feels that a break will be the result on the overwelling push itself.
“And on June 28, we will see how many citizens are ready to be part of that pressure,” she says.
Clayt noted that while a public disgruntled group has not gone away, fatigue is real, and the feeling of urgency has faded.
“I think the disatis faction is as strong as December in December, but realizing that something should happen immediately … that may have bees. And I believe it will be easy to repay that feeling instead of July or August.”
Therefore, depending on how things develop on Saturday, Serbia can not only be for a warm heat of a meteorological, but for a politically warm decline – proves that students can then catch the blind.
Edited by: Angle Flangon