Academic Plenum: Part of Opposition Depicts Students as Anti-European

Student's protest BETAPHOTO/Uros Matovic

The Academic Plenum university network from Novi Sad called on the citizens of Serbia on Jan. 14 to leave political differences aside and support the students, and dismissed the claims about the students being anti-Europe oriented, recollecting that students had organized the bicycle ride and the ultra-marathon to the EU institutions in Strasbourg and Brussels.

“We call on all citizens of Serbia to leave political differences aside and give full support to the students in an attempt to create a society where these differences could be presented and debated in a way it is nowadays done in all democratic societies,” stated the Academic Plenum.

They described as “disgraceful” the campaign on social media where students or student groups are insulted and described as “pro-Russian or influenced by the Security and Information Agency.” The Academic Plenum accused a part of the opposition of executing this campaign with the aim of presenting the students as being against the European Union, come election time.

“By slandering the students in such a way, some in the ‘opposition’ want to win votes and, consequently, parliamentary seats, and they are proving that their personal interest is far above the interest of the many,” it was declared in the statement.