At the end of September, Aleksandar Vucic resigned as president and scheduled new elections, thus fulfilling one of the main demands of the student movement. It was born two years ago after the tragedy in Novi Sad, where the canopy of the railway station collapsed and took the lives of 16 people. The students are adamant that the disaster in Novi Sad is a consequence of the corruption and abuse of power of the "Vucic system" and have been protesting for two years now.
In the meantime, they have released their own list for the elections, which includes respected professors, activists and celebrities. Students envision a government led by experts - but unlike Hungary, where Peter Magyar led his coalition to victory over then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Serbian student movement lacks a charismatic leader, ARD writes.
A smear campaign
For a moment, it seemed that the protest movement had acquired a face of its own: after a tragic fatal incident at Belgrade University, police forces stormed the office of the rector, Professor Vladan Dokic, who had supported the protests. This prompted Dokic to deliver an emotional speech from the university's balcony. "They can take away our receivers and computers, but they can't take away our truth," he told the crowd gathered in the university courtyard.
The student movement has been meeting with supporters of Vucic's party across the country during the campaign. Photo: Aleksandar Jovicic/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Then a campaign to discredit him began with the active participation of the media controlled by Vucic, which for many people in Serbia is the only source of information, ARD recalls. In the end, Dokic was not included in the election ballot.
Personal attacks for supporting students
According to the protest movement, anyone who publicly opposes Vucic could find themselves in a similar situation. A prime example of this is Jana Acimovic Planojević - the lawyer representing victims of a police operation in Valjevo, where demonstrators were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers a year ago. Planojević is fighting for the truth to come out, which has made her a target and now she has to defend herself against attacks - including from Vucic himself.
"The fabrications about my father hit me the hardest. "They accused him of burying ammonia as a business owner, poisoning the entire city and causing the deaths of many people from cancer," she told German public media. The lawyer supports the students, who are openly fighting for the rule of law.
Unconventional election campaign - with bicycles around the country
"We hope to reach people and explain to them what is really happening in the country," says 22-year-old medical student Maria - one of the participants in the student bicycle tours around the country as part of the protest movement's election campaign. In the small town of Osečina, the group of about 120 cyclists has a difficult task: people in the rural area southwest of Belgrade are conservative and have supported Vučić en masse for years.
Vučić's supporters in many places remain loyal to the party of the long-time president. Photo: Aleksandar Jovicic/NurPhoto/picture alliance
As soon as they entered the village, the students were greeted by representatives of Vučić's party. According to them, he has moved the country forward, mainly by improving infrastructure. "Here, in our municipality, you can see with the naked eye how much has been done," says Svetozar Gačić, chairman of the municipal council. When the students ask about progress on EU accession, the city's mayor struggles to answer, but Gačić comes to his aid: "We support the policies of our president, Aleksandar Vučić, who advocates both European integration and good relations with brotherly Russia."
"Our hope is in these young people"
A little further on, other locals have gathered. They welcome the students with applause, food and drinks. "They opened the doors and windows wide so that people can finally feel the breath of freedom again", says one man. "Hats off to them. These are our children!", adds another with tears in his eyes. "We will all fight together to put an end to this madness. We place our hopes in God and in these young people."
The surveys show that the student list is moving almost on par with Vucic's camp. The elections in two weeks - on October 25 - could turn out to be historic for Serbia and the entire Balkan region, writes ARD.
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Source: www.dw.com