Fighting, stun grenades and tear gas against peaceful protesters, as well as dismissals of all who are not completely loyal to him - Vucic is ready to do anything to maintain his power. How far will the repression in Serbia go?
The protests in Serbia are not abating. Earlier this week, thousands took to the streets and accused the police of using violence against protesters in the country.
A few days ago, violence escalated in front of the University of Novi Sad, where a peaceful protest was taking place. "First, a group of police officers jumped out of the dark park, rushed into the crowd and started beating people with batons," says Norbert Sinkovic, an assistant professor at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Videos were circulated showing police officers beating anyone who got in their way - students, volunteers, women and even an elderly man with a cane.
Armored police trucks patrolled the streets, often heading straight for the gathered crowd to disperse it. "The police were pushing back citizens, literally clearing street by street," says local resident Tamara Srijemac. "Novi Sad looked like an occupied city that night." Law enforcement used stun grenades and tear gas against the protesters.
"The state is stronger than any individual"
The protesters were chased through the streets and many took refuge in the university building. The police also stormed it and kept a group of protesters, mainly students and university professors, locked up for several hours, repeatedly searching everyone. "The whole operation was carried out as if we were terrorists", says student Iva Galicki. "They shouted at us, asked us where our headquarters was, where we were making our plans", she adds. "I kept wondering if it was possible that they really thought we were terrorists. I looked into their eyes, I watched them speak through clenched teeth, how they insisted on showing them our secret rooms, where they said we were planning how to carry out a coup. It was absurd."
That same night, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic praised the police for their "professional work" and called the protesters "cowards and scoundrels," accusing them of attacking the police first. "It is our duty - when the institutions of Serbia are attacked, to intervene, because we will not allow the institutions to be destroyed," the president said. "The state is stronger than any individual. It was like this today, it will be like this tomorrow, it will be like this forever."
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told state television that 13 police officers were injured in a "large-scale and brutal attack" in which protesters threw stones and fireworks, he said.
Open repression against protesters
"We have seen excessive force used by the police in previous situations, but this was unnecessary against a peaceful protest," said Predrag Petrovic of the Belgrade Center for Security Policy. According to Petrovic, the police should have intervened only against those who directly took part in attacks on law enforcement officers, and not indiscriminately against all protesters, many of whom were peacefully demonstrating their dissatisfaction.
"This was an attack on people who simply oppose the regime - a show of force, the main idea of which was to scare those who want to continue protesting," says the expert. He believes that this is a sign that the regime is now moving towards completely open repressions that are illegal and cannot be stopped by any institution. "Since it has been in power, the ruling party has been trying to establish the strongest possible control over all security forces. However, this also means controlling the judiciary, which is supposed to monitor the work of the security forces. "It seems they have already succeeded to a large extent," Petrovic said.
Vucic demands full loyalty
The evidence of this is the dismissal of Spaso Vuljevic, the commander of the Serbian special forces, who announced his replacement on Sunday. "The interior minister and the police chief called me and told me that they could no longer rely on me because, as they explained, the president does not want to have armed forces that are not under his absolute control," Vuljevic told Serbian media. Predrag Petrovic pointed out that this is not an isolated case - other law enforcement officials have also been dismissed in recent months for not demonstrating full loyalty.
According to the expert, this is a sign that "disloyal" people are currently being fired everywhere. He expects the authorities to enter into a very serious confrontation with all critics of the regime. "It is reasonable to assume this, because the Serbian special forces are an elite structure trained to resolve hostage crises and fight terrorists. The regime has long called protesters extremists, and in the last month or two even terrorists. And we all know what happens to terrorists," warns Petrovic.
The students have no intention of giving up
DV sources claim that many police officers are refusing to follow orders, are going on sick leave or on leave. Some are even quitting their jobs. However, Petrovic doubts that there is enough opposition within the police to stop the repression. According to him, only citizens can bring about change. "Enormous disobedience and peaceful resistance by citizens in many places at the same time - such a scenario simply cannot be stopped by the police and will make the imposition of repression very, very difficult", the expert believes.
The students say they have no choice but to continue protesting. "Citizens know what they are up against and that repression is not a method that can permanently suppress protests", student Danilo Erdelyan told DV. "The only thing left for us is to resist. In every possible way. We cannot let things remain as they are."