Opposition MPs: Summer Should Not Stop Protests

Protest in Belgrade, June 3 2023 (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

In a July 2 guest appearance on Nova S TV, opposition MPs Miroslav Aleksic and Radomir Lazovic both agreed that the ‘Serbia Against Violence’ rallies should not be halted over the summer because the momentum of the protests needs to be preserved. Speaking on the evening talk show Utisak Nedelje (i.e. Impression of the Week), the duo maintained that the authorities are ignoring the tragic early May shootings in the same way they are ignoring the public gathering in the streets.

People’s Party caucus head Miroslav Aleksic concluded that this disregard is a form of violence. The regime’s attitude “toward MPs, toward the general public, and in public appearances” communicates not only a blatant lack of regard but also complete ignorance of the duties and responsibilities inherent to their offices, Aleksic stated.

The two mass shootings in Belgrade and Mladenovac may not have woken up the authorities, Aleksic further said, but they have “awoken the people.” “The bubble of discontent that has been growing in Serbia for eleven years has finally burst. The people have come to their feet and, right now, that is most important. Having realized that anyone’s child can tomorrow be in danger, that quiet majority has risen,” he said.

The politician also expressed his conviction that the authorities will not meet the protestors’ demands but that, together, the people must continue fighting in the streets through every possible form of civil disobedience.

Radomir Lazovic, the leader of the Green-Left Club, Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)own parliamentary group, expressed his belief that the regime is not only ignoring the opposition “but reality as well.” “They aren’t concerned for our society,” Lazovic explained, “but are rather waiting for this to blow over, so they can continue making deals, making money off other people’s misfortune as do Pink [TV] and Happy [TV], siphoning money for their projects, which ruin the environment [and] public resources.”

According to Lazovic, postponing the rallies due to dwindling summer numbers would be detrimental and is not something he will support. “We’ve shown how numerous we are. Some of the biggest protests [in recent Serbian history] took place over the last nine weeks… Fights like these take time. Sometimes there are more people, sometimes less, but thirty cities are protesting – all of Serbia is rising,” Lazovic concluded.