Although one part of the ruling majority "encourages" students protesting in Serbia, and another signs a petition in support of that country's President Aleksandar Vučić, this is not an indication of the tensions that could be a "point of contention" for the government of Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement), because it is maintained by vested interests.
Thus, the editor-in-chief of the weekly "Monitor" Milena Perović explains to "Vijesti" the opposing positions of the ruling political actors in Montenegro on the events in the neighboring country.
In it, students have been blocking faculties for two months, demanding that the authorities establish criminal responsibility for the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on November 1st last year, when 15 people died.
The head of the parliamentary group of the Europe Now Movement (PES) Vasilije Čarapić said yesterday on the X network that "it is much more important to support the right to a naked life of Sonja Ponjavić," a student at the Belgrade Faculty of Law, who was recently hit by a car at a protest in the Serbian capital.
On the other hand, the Institute for Political Networking, little known to the public in Serbia, launched a "petition in support of Vučić's right to life", which was signed, among others, by representatives of Montenegrin parties close to him - the leader of the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević and the mayor of Nikšić and MP from the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Marko Kovačević.
The organization's website states that they are appealing with the petition "to defend the right to life" of Vučić, as "an inalienable human right that every person enjoys by birth and which is guaranteed to him as such by both the Constitution and laws, as well as by the will of God."
"At the same time, we call on the competent state authorities to take the threats to assassinate the President of the Republic extremely seriously, and to act in a timely and adequate manner against those from whom such threats come," they said.
Perović: What about the right to life of the Novi Sad victims?
Perović believes that it is no surprise that among the signatories of the petition appealing "to defend the right to life of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, as an inalienable human right," there were officials from the constituents of the former Democratic Front (DF).
"An absolutely uncritical and submissive attitude towards the Serbian autocrat, while at home political points are gained at the expense of the fight against the former, long-standing Montenegrin autocrat, the forces of the former DF have long been demonstrated. At home, people still talk about the protests against (former President and Prime Minister Milo) Đukanović as the greatest heroic act, while the protests of Belgrade students and citizens against Vučić's autocratic rule represent for them the 'destabilization' of Serbia and the 'threat to its inalienable human rights'", she stated, asking - what about "the inalienable right to life of the Novi Sad victims, who suffered because of Vučić's corrupt system", or "the inalienable right to life of those who oppose that system and end up almost run over on the street".
Perović said that, in the case of signing the petition, it is not only a matter of "the subtle national emotions of Knežević and Kovačević", of which, she claims, "they do not see similarities between Vučić and Đukanović", but also that the possible weakening of the Serbian President's rule would also affect the strength of the former DF "at home". She added that she does not believe that the fact that one part of the executive branch supports the protests, and the other the government in Serbia - "a new indicator of the wavering".
"I don't see the fact that someone from PES tweeted that they support the protests, while their partners in the government are signing off on their support for Vučić as a new indicator of ripples or new potential tensions in the government. There are countless similar reasons that could be a 'point of contention' for the executive branch, but they are not, because it is maintained by political interests," the interviewee of "Vijesti" concludes.
Among the signatories were Rodić, Parezanović, and Captain Dragan.
"Vijesti" asked DNP and NSD why Knežević and Kovačević supported Vučić, and PES what the reasons were for Čarapić's support for students in Serbia, but none of these political entities answered the questions.
Questions about whether the different positions of the ruling party officials would lead to discord in the government also remained unanswered, while members of the former DF were asked to state whether they would sign the petition, or whether the leader of the NSD and the head of parliament, Andrija Mandić, should do so as well. The question of whether Mandić would initial his support for Vučić was also raised with the office of the Speaker of the Parliament, but no response was received from that address either.
The newspaper also contacted Knežević, asking him what motivated him to sign the petition and whether he believed that the life of the President of Serbia was in danger, but he did not receive a response either.
Belgrade-based foreign policy commentator Boško Jakšić told "Vijesti" that the "Serbian bourgeoisie" is in no way contributing to the political stabilization of Montenegro and is distancing it from the European Union (EU), "since Vučić has a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Montenegro will enter the EU before Serbia."
"That's why he uses all the mining works whose contractors are known for the cockades they wear," he said.
The website of the Institute for Political Networking (ipu.rs) reported last night that 44 people had signed a petition in support of Vučić. In addition to Knežević and Kovačević, the leader of the Free Montenegro party Vladislav Dajković also signed it from Montenegro. The list also includes Serbian Ambassador to Podgorica Nebojša Rodić, former Serbian Prime Minister and current Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Ana Brnabić, a high-ranking official of the Security and Information Agency (BIA) Marko Parezanović, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić, former commander of paramilitary formations in the wars of the 90s Dragan Vasiljković, better known as Captain Dragan...
From protest to general strike
Student protests in the neighboring country began as part of the “Stop, Serbia” campaign, which paid tribute to the victims of the accident at the Novi Sad train station. Following a physical attack on students at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade on November 22, for which the students accused local representatives of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), the protests escalated into blockades of the faculty and the rector’s office.
More than 50 faculties at four state universities, several rectors' offices and dozens of high schools have been blocked. Students in the blockades are demanding political and criminal responsibility for the collapse of the canopy. At the end of December, around 100.000 citizens attended a protest on Belgrade's Slavija Square, according to the Archive of Public Assemblies of Serbia.
Under public pressure, Vučić announced on December 11 that 195 documents on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad railway station would be published on the government's website, claiming that this was complete documentation. While the government claims that it has met all their demands, student representatives say that the published documentation is incomplete and does not answer the question of who is responsible and what happened.
The students in the blockade have called on the citizens of Serbia to completely suspend all activities today, i.e. to go on a general strike or "general civil disobedience." According to information from Belgrade media, the call was responded to by workers in culture and entertainment, the IT community, catering establishments, the media...
"We don't go to work, we don't go to classes, we don't do our daily duties. We take our freedom into our own hands. Your participation makes a difference," the students wrote on Instagram.
According to them, "everything must stop," and the students' demands remain: the publication of complete documentation on the reconstruction of the railway station, the dismissal of criminal charges against students arrested and detained during protests, the suspension of initiated criminal proceedings, the prosecution of those responsible for attacks on students and professors, as well as their dismissal if they hold public office, and an increase in the budget for higher education by 20 percent.
As Knežević said: I would be a hypocrite if I didn't support students
Appearing on a show with Vučić on Belgrade's Pink Television in late December, Knežević said he would be a "hypocrite" if he did not support the student protests "which mean the betterment of society, but also of everything that is the goal of a well-intentioned citizen."
"What is noticeable, however, is the contamination of certain political structures that cannot come to power. Under the guise of student protests, they are trying to come to power like on October 5 (2000)," added the DNP leader.
On that occasion, he told the students that, if they truly believe in what they are doing, they should "remove political influence."
"Do not allow anyone to manipulate your power, nor to have the support of (Kosovo Prime Minister Albin) Kurti, and the anti-Serb coalitions led by Milo Djukanovic. They in Montenegro do not support student protests, but support protests hoping that there will be a change of government in Serbia," Knežević said.
“Double-digit assassination attempt on Vučić”
According to Serbian media reports, the number of assassination attempts on Vučić that he announced or were "discovered" by the local pro-regime media is in the double digits.
The first such “attempt” occurred in 2016, when a car full of weapons and ammunition was found near his parents' home in Jajinci. That case never reached a court outcome.
Three years later, during the "1 in 5 Million" protest, demonstrators surrounded Radio Television of Serbia, where he was a guest, and waited for him to come out to talk to him. According to the Nova.rs portal, it remains a mystery how he entered the building, and media outlets close to him reported that assassins were waiting for him in the crowd.
This was not the last “attempt,” as in 2021, then-Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić revealed to the public that another assassination attempt was being prepared, as was also claimed by then-Minister of Interior Aleksandar Vulin. Vučić said at the opening of the monument to Stefan Nemanja in Belgrade that he “wasn’t even wearing a bulletproof vest.”
Vulin said a year later that "as long as Radoje Zvicer (one of the leaders of the Kavač criminal clan) is at large, there is a danger of an assassination attempt on Vučić."
However, Marko Miljković, who is charged with murder, drug trafficking and other crimes, stated during the trial that, on Vulin's orders, a car full of weapons was left in Jajinci by members of the criminal group.
Bonus video:
