Analyst: Protests against Violence to Turn To “Stop the Mafia” Protests in the Fall

Dusan Janjic (BETAPHOTO/MEDIJA CENTAR BEOGRAD)

The founder of the Forum for Ethnic Relations, Dusan Janjic, said on Aug. 4 that it was important to spread the Protests Against Violence across Serbia during the summer, and promote the goals and demands of the protesters internationally, but that he expected the campaign to be renamed to “Stop the Mafia” in the fall.

In an interview with Belgrade’s Media Center Janjic said that he expected the new campaign to be more massive, and politically consolidated based on the slogan "Leave," meaning the government, and that the decisive support for transitioning to a new government would be created then.

Janjic said that the major challenge for and responsibility that the protest coordinators would have were would be protecting their individual identities, as political parties and movements, and, at the same time, sending joint messages to a broader circle of future voters. The analyst said that by ignoring all of the protesters' demands, the authorities had made it clear that they “are unwilling, unprepared and even incapable of properly resolving the problems the protesters are pointing to.”

“In a word, an insecure government and myriad of unfulfilled promises encourage distrust of the authorities. Those whom you cannot trust cannot guarantee security. To the contrary, this expands the fears, anxieties, uncertainties and feelings of vulnerability of citizens,” Janjic explained.