The fight also took place under the vaults of the parliament building in Belgrade. It's not like the parliament building was just a stage for great democratic achievements. While guns were brandished in front of the Assembly, tear gas and horses were used, inside the building shoes were thrown, water was poured, microphones were ripped out, swearing... Not to mention the devastation and the fire on October 5, 2000. Once upon a time, people used to kill. There was anything and everything, but never real fights.
Several failed attempts were recorded, but until this Monday, the fight somehow bypassed the building of the Serbian Parliament. Honestly, it was more of a fight in the clinch than a fight with uppercuts, hooks and directs. Somehow, everything was similar to what we recently had the opportunity to watch in Texas in the boxing match between the legendary Mike Tyson and several dozen years younger YouTuber Jake Paul. Certainly more concrete and interesting, but without gloves and a sports greeting at the end.
The only thing was that there was no audience. Tickets were not sold, but therefore a free live television broadcast was provided, but without sound.
Everyone expects the match to continue
The fight started when one of the opposition MPs stuck a sticker with a bloody fist on the bench where the Minister of Health was sitting, and the latter stood up and pushed him away. It was the start of the first round. Towards the middle of the ring, i.e. the area directly in front of the place where the Speaker of the Parliament Ana Brnabić is sitting, both the government and the opposition rushed, and quickly a multi-minute clinch was created, which Brnabić tried to break by calling security. The MPs, however, remained in that fighting embrace, and it was precisely the members of the parliamentary security who failed to separate them that got the better of them.
If MP Marinika Tepić had not been part of the government and security representatives poured a mysterious red liquid from a plastic bottle for cold tea made from forest fruits, and several torn lapels and torn ties, the traces of the struggle would not even be very visible. There were no punches below the belt, at least not those recorded, but the camera captured something similar to Tyson's unsportsmanlike move when he bit off part of Evander Holyfield's ear, back in 1997. Namely, the head of the parliamentary group of the Serbian Radical Party, Milenko Jovanov, spat at his colleagues from the other side. One of the most agile progressive fighters, Vladimir Đukanović, showed a bit of boxing skill, but it was more like trying to fight with a fist facing the opponent. Even if he reached someone, there would hardly be any knockdown.
In addition to the aforementioned Tepić, real opposition blood also flowed through Dragan Đilas, who honestly pushed, scratched and even wrestled a little with the opposing camp for several minutes, and that only after a barrage of insults to which he was exposed.
The second round took place on the balcony, where female representatives of the government unfurled a banner against the opposition, and female colleagues from the other camp fought bravely to take it away from them. This round also ended in a draw, as did the third, which happened again in the immediate vicinity of the new Don King, the aforementioned Ana Brnabić.
Unlike the once most famous announcer and promoter of boxing matches, but in almost his manner, Brnabić marked the end of the fight between the government and the opposition in the parliament hall with the cry: "Long live Serbia". She absolutely surprised everyone with the bravery with which she called off the fight so that King would probably bow to her. And now everyone expects the match to continue.
Sad impression
As funny as all this seemed, a sad impression remained in Serbian society. It is in a major crisis, and this fight in the parliament is just one in a series of proofs. The result may be a draw, but Serbia is the one who lost a lot. Such scenes are no longer seen even in Asian and African parliaments. Serbian officials reconciled with their tearful colleagues in Pristina when tear gas was thrown into the Kosovo parliament. Now they have that kind of political stupidity and violence in their highest home. For some reason, they don't feel like laughing these days.
Perhaps the Serbian Parliament building itself is haunted and does not allow the development of democracy to the honor and glory of the parliament. As the government is demolishing in Belgrade, it would not be a big surprise if after the General Staff building and the Old Bridge, the construction machinery reached the parliament house and demolished it so that instead of democracy some modern residential and business complex could be developed. Why not, it's in a good location. In any case, the President of Serbia said that the sessions of the Assembly of Serbia can be organized in the meadow. He probably had in mind his own deputies, many of whom prefer to stay on the grass instead of in the parliament building.
A very bad image has gone out into the world from Serbia, and the impression is that it will not end there. The authorities in Belgrade refuse any responsibility for what happened in the Parliament and shift all the blame to the opposition. The Serbian opposition is not that strong and powerful, nor is it responsible for the crisis in society. When someone has absolute power, he cannot avoid absolute responsibility, and Aleksandar Vučić is trying to do just that. Precisely because of this, the pipe of peace will not be lit in Serbia anytime soon.
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