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France 24
7 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Serbian youth pumps up protest at last EXIT festival
Long a symbol of youth-led resistance, the four-day dance party came to an end this week and hundreds of thousands of festival-goers headed home re-energised to continue their struggle. Within the walls of the festival's iconic fortress venue, and on the streets of Novi Sad, where the student-led movement began in November, symbols of resistance were everywhere. An image of a bloodied red hand, a stark symbol of the protests, beamed down from screens onto heaving mosh pits throughout screaming punk sets, while the protest's rallying cry bounced over thumping techno. The movement is nine months old and, for many, EXIT was a chance to renew their protest under a more international spotlight. "This is basically about keeping the fire alive and responding to this regime," Srdan Kovacevic told AFP at on the bridge into the festival. Festival-goers streamed past signs memorialising the 16 people killed in a train station roof collapse -- a tragedy that sparked anti-graft demonstrations against the country's right-wing government. "I think it is very important to stand on this side and raise awareness not only domestically but internationally," said Vanja Manic-Matic, a French language teacher. This could be the last time Serbian protest chants are heard at the festival's iconic Serbian site, after organisers announced a decision to leave their home country. First launched 25 years ago in opposition to strongman Slobodan Milosevic's rule, organisers now accuse President Aleksandar Vucic's government of pressuring it to pull out of the Balkan nation. Following their backing of the anti-corruption movement, the festival claims the government cut funding and sponsors were pressured to withdraw. 'Pumpaj' punks Since November, massive rallies, some drawing hundreds of thousands, have gripped Serbia -- triggering the collapse of a government faced with accusations of deep-rooted corruption. But Vucic, in power since 2012, remains at the head of a reshuffled administration and refuses to hold new elections, a key demand of the protesters. Instead, the government has trained its sights on EXIT, one of the country's most significant international tourism draws. "This is a great thing because it shows how crooked everything is in Serbia," Filip Ubovic, a 23-year-old Belgrade student, told a press conference during EXIT. On festival fences, rally photos were hung alongside protest banners, while crowds screamed the movement's chant: "Pumpaj!", or "Pump it up!" in English. Local bands were joined by international artists, including punk legends the Sex Pistols, in encouraging the crowd to chant the protest slogan. "Stand up for your rights, show that the people have power. Pump it!" shouted Italian singer Gala. 'Inevitable' "It's a great sign to Europe, to the world, that we are here. We are ready for the fight until we win," 22-year-old student protester Aleksa Savic said during the festival. Following a massive rally in Belgrade in late June, major roads and public squares have been frequently blocked by roaming protesters in cities around the country. Vucic has responded by calling for the arrest of demonstrators he alleged are "paid by foreign interests". Dozens have been detained in recent weeks. As summer holidays begin and the cities empty, Kovacevic admitted turning out large numbers against the government was becoming difficult, but he nevertheless believed fresh elections were "inevitable". "It's not just that it must happen, but it will happen," the 53-year-old lawyer said. Making an EXIT EXIT plans to move abroad, reportedly to the foot of the Giza Pyramid outside Cairo. "This is the hardest decision in our 25-year history, but we believe freedom has no price," festival founder and director Dusan Kovacevic said. It is part of a larger cultural exodus from Serbia. Several theatre and film festivals have been cancelled or defunded without explanation in recent months. In June, a former paramilitary unit leader was installed as head of the national theatre company, triggering an outcry from artists. "I think it will have a big cultural impact on both Serbia and Novi Sad. I'm simply sad that this is the last EXIT," 25-year-old Veljko said as he arrived for the festival's last day. In the closing hours of EXIT, organisers issued an emotional farewell to the crowd.
Reuters
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Serbian police detain 79 people in crackdown on protests
BELGRADE, July 3 (Reuters) - Serbian police detained 79 protesters late on Wednesday in a crackdown on street demonstrators calling for a snap election and an end of the 12-year rule of the President Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party. Police and protesters clashed in the capital Belgrade and the cities of Novi Sad, Nis and Novi Pazar, the interior ministry said in the statement on Thursday. Months of protests across Serbia, including university shutdowns, have rattled Vucic, a former ultranationalist who converted to the cause of European Union membership in 2008. His second term ends in 2027, when parliamentary elections are also scheduled. The protesters launched blockades of major junctions and roads in Belgrade and other towns across Serbia on Sunday over the arrest of activists when police and demonstrators clashed at a big opposition rally on Saturday. On Wednesday evening, police moved to remove students in front of the entrance of the Law Faculty in Belgrade, and briefly detained dozens, N1 TV reported. Oliver Stojkovic, a professor at the medical faculty, told Fonet news agency that four students had been injured in the police action and taken to hospital. "This (the police action) is an absolute violation of human rights and a violation of the freedom of the university," Bozo Prelevic, a former interior minister, told Reuters. The U.N. human rights office said on X it was "closely monitoring situation after reports of violence, harassment & arbitrary detention of protesters" and urged authorities to exercise restraint. Vucic's opponents accuse him and his allies of ties to organised crime, violence against rivals and curbing media freedoms. Vucic denies the accusations. Protests by students, opposition, teachers, workers and farmers began last December after 16 people died on November 1 in a Novi Sad railway station roof collapse. Protesters blame corruption for the disaster.
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Roadblocks replace rallies as Serbian protesters demand new elections
As Serbia's anti-corruption protests enter their ninth month, they show no sign of abating – and are instead changing in their leadership, composition and the climax of last weekend's 140,000-strong protest in Belgrade's Slavija Square the students who led the protests since November declared that they would no longer spearhead the had set a deadline of Saturday for the government to call for fresh elections. When that was not met, they invited other groups to take on the protest mantle - and called for a campaign of "civil disobedience" from anyone opposed to the leadership of President Aleksandar Vucic and his long-governing Progressive Party (SNS).Since then roadblocks have been popping up in cities across Serbia this week and people have been deploying dustbins, chairs and other improvised barriers to block junctions in major cities including Belgrade, Novi Sad and Nis. Local residents' associations - known as "citizens' assemblies" - have been heavily soon as the police dismantle one blockade, another one pops up somewhere else. Police crackdown triggers backlash In recent days there have been dozens of arrests – along with complaints of excessive police force. A number of students were treated in hospital – one with a broken collarbone – after Gendarmerie members entered Belgrade University's Law Faculty on also arrested high school students, triggering a protest by parents in front of a central Belgrade police station until their children were released.A striking range of voices have condemned the police conduct. Complaints by the journalists' association and the opposition Centre Party were matched by statements from the Bar Association and even Serbian Orthodox Church Archbishop Grigorije Duric. The EU, for its part, decried the "acts of hatred and violence" and called for in Belgrade, the pop-up roadblocks continue – and so does the ensuing travel chaos for resident, while ruefully noting that she had to walk 5km (3 miles) to and from work, described the mood as more like a series of street parties than a many observers doubt whether this approach will be any more effective than the months of rallies, faculty blockades and half-hearted general strikes. The 2024 Novi Sad railway disaster The protest movement started with a relatively simple purpose: to ensure accountability for last November's disaster at Novi Sad railway station, when a concrete canopy at the recently renovated facility in Serbia's second city collapsed, killing 16 people who were standing beneath outpouring of grief was instant – and the outrage swiftly of it has been directed at President Vucic.A large section of Serbians have long been uneasy with his "strongman" style of leadership, since he came to power in 2012. But others have accepted his party's firm grip on state institutions and much of the media as a trade-off for strong economic growth and improvements in over Serbia station tragedy prompts first arrestsSerbia's largest-ever rally sees 325,000 protest against governmentThe station disaster shattered that tacit agreement."We are all under the canopy" was one slogan frequently seen on banners in the early days of the protests. Others included "blood on your hands" and "corruption kills".University students took leadership of the movement, demanding full transparency about the railway station project and the prosecution of those responsible for the of protests eventually forced the resignation of Milos Vucevic as prime minister. But he was simply replaced by another Vucic appointee, Djuro Macut – and the protest movement has otherwise achieved little in terms of concrete results. No end in sight for protest movement Still, the protests have now brought hundreds of thousands out into the streets and are galvanising large sections of society. One opposition leader, Srdjan Milivojevic of the centre-left Democratic Party, compared the moment to the early 2000s, when the student-led protests against the notorious President Slobodan Milosevic "became a people's movement".Then, a coalition of interest groups stood firm against Milosevic's attempts to manipulate the result of the September 2000 presidential election. Mass protests forced the president's resignation the following month and ushered in democracy in Serbia for the first despite efforts to invoke the "spirit of 5 October", the current situation is different. President Vucic and his party remain in a relatively comfortable position, with polls indicating that the SNS remains the most popular the aftermath of the last, big student-led rally, Mr Vucic declared that "Serbia won" in the face of an attempt to "overthrow the state".The people blocking the roads in Serbia's cities view it differently. They are asking for change through the ballot box – even if it is far from clear who would run against the SNS. And the president insists there will be no elections before December next now it is perhaps a question of which side blinks first. And with temperatures already pushing towards 40C, it could be a simmering summer in more ways than one.
France 24
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Djokovic denies Wimbledon celebration is politically motivated
Djokovic has taken to marking his wins at the All England Club with an unusual dance routine on the court. The 38-year-old Serb blew kisses to the crowd before turning to the players' box to perform the 'pump' moves after beating British wildcard Dan Evans in straight sets in the second round on Thursday. Djokovic pumped his hands towards the ground, before repeating the action to the sides and above his head. The 24-time Grand Slam champion's pumping gesture, which he also used after his first-round victory over Alexandre Muller, has been controversial in Serbia. The word pump is synonymous with a student protest sparked by the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024, which claimed 16 lives. Students have put together blockades at their schools, accusing the government of corruption. The "pump it" phrase is used by students as a reminder to keep putting pressure on the government. Djokovic has previously praised protesting students in Serbia, wearing a hoodie that read "students are champions" and dedicating a victory at the Australian Open to a student who was injured during a protest. But the seven-time Wimbledon winner is adamant his celebration at the grass-court Grand Slam is simply a bonding moment with his young children. "As I mentioned to the Serbian journalists, it's something between me and my children. We have a song, it's called 'Pump It Up'," he told reporters when asked if it was a political gesture. "I don't know how many of you guys know that. It's quite an old song. Good rhythm. "So yeah, we're pumping. We love pumping. We pump after every win. I don't know the name of the artist." © 2025 AFP
Washington Post
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Serbian police detain 79 protesters as dissent persists against populist president
BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbian police said they detained 79 university students and other protesters as they broke up street blockades in several cities that are part of persistent dissent against President Aleksandar Vucic's populist government. Officers in riot gear intervened late Wednesday and early Thursday in the capital, Belgrade, the northern city of Novi Sad and the southern cities of Nis and Novi Pazar. Authorities denied reports of police brutality and excessive force against demonstrators.
