Politics Before Culture

Nikola Selakovic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

Serbian Minister of Culture Nikola Selakovic has been the target of strong criticism in the past several days for having decided to close the National Theater in Belgrade for three weeks. Although the official justification was the safety of audience and staff, that is, the need to address irregularities in the fire protection system, the timing of the closure suggests that political motives lay behind the decision, and that the ultimate goal was to silence government opponents.