Student: If Finance Minister’s Doctoral Thesis Is Declared Plagiarism-Free, We’ll Resume Blockade of Rectorate

(Beta/Ana Slovic)

Mila Jovanovic, one of the students who were blocking the Belgrade University Rector’s Office, on Sept. 26 said that if the doctoral thesis of Finance Minister Sinisa Mali was declared a non-plagiarized dissertation, the students would again block the Rectorate.

“We are not the only ones believing that Mali’s PhD thesis contains instances of plagiarism, the professors share the opinion, and we are convinced that the outcome of the check will be satisfactory as the professors also say it is a plagiarized thesis. If the Board reconsidering the thesis decides it is a non-plagiarized thesis, we will resume the blockade together with our professors,” Jovanovic told TV N1.

She added that the protesting students had achieved their goals – shedding light on the finance minister’s doctoral degree and showing that the University of Belgrade is an independent institution.

“We were given the date by which the matter will be resolved and the rector assumed the responsibility for a possible failure to settle the matter. We also received answers to a number of burning issues. We have managed to get media coverage despite the blackout as pubic state broadcaster RTS has reported on the students’ demands,” Jovanovic noted.

She added that the students had received from the rector a paper in a sealed envelope, which would be made public unless the demands were met.

“The rector said she guaranteed to get the matter resolved. Unless this demand is met by Nov. 4, we will be back to the Rector’s office and in larger numbers. Unless this issue is resolved and the thesis declared as plagiarism, we will go back to the Rectorate,” Jovanovic stressed.

Asked about the topics they had discussed with opposition representatives who had visited them while they were in the Rector’s Office, Jovanovic replied that she did not wish to make any distinction between the support provided by the opposition and an old lay who had brought them cookies.

“Those were the words of support that meant a lot to us. We did not feel safe, we would leave the building only briefly, and while out, we would keep our eyes peeled following the break-in of Serbian Progressive Party members and a physical attack which assured us that they would not refrain from doing whatever it took. We had fake assistants who were visiting us in the building,” Jovanovic explained.