University Professors: Students Are Fighting for Justice and Against Violence and Repression

Milos Besic (Youtube/Printscreen)

Students want justice and are fighting against violence and repression - was the main takeaway of a survey of students of the Belgrade University and the University of Arts, and the participants, male and female, of student plenums. The survey was conducted by School of Political Sciences in Belgrade professors Slobodan G. Markovic and Milos Besic.

"Those two aspects are on the pedestal - everything else, although not less important, is a function of this fight." When asked what best defines the ongoing student protests as many as two-thirds of those polled said the it was best defined as a struggle for justice while 19 percent said that they believed the protests' biggest power was unity and togetherness, followed by solidarity and perseverance, Besic told the Vreme weekly on July 17,commenting on the poll which was conducted between January and May, which, he said, was the first of its kind in Serbia.

Besic added that, "The biggest problem in Serbia is corruption, followed by the concentration of power in the hands of its president," stressing that, "All of this works in favor of the struggle against injustice." "It is interesting that when asked if a goldfish offered them to choose one major change in Serbia and what would that be, 40 percent said: 'Institutions and rule of law,' while 22 percent said 'a change of government,' which again means that after a change of government there would be rule of law and functioning institutions. Everything else, beginning with economic development, is less important to them," Besic said.

The poll showed that as many as 96 percent of respondents believed that there was repression against dissidents in Serbia, even though the survey was conducted before a St. Vitus day mass protest.