The protest titled “What Does Victory Mean?” called by Students in Blockade was held last night at Freedom Square in Novi Sad.
At the first major gathering of the year in Novi Sad, speeches were delivered by two students from the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Philosophy, Professor Jelena Kleut, lawyer Tanja Arsić, and lawyer Predrag Bogovac, who spoke about lustration and the implementation of the Law on the Origin of Property.
At the end of the protest program, students announced that on January 27 they will organize a gathering in Belgrade to mark St. Sava Day and discuss the importance of education.
PART OF THE SPEECH BY THE LAW FACULTY STUDENT
A Law Faculty student stated that in Serbia, children are treated via SMS, Banat has no water, and citizens of Western Serbia spend holidays without electricity and water, reports N1.
He said that Serbia is divided between modern tyrants and the impoverished masses.
“The people of Serbia have had enough. They no longer want to bow down for laws established by new tyrants. I ask you, will we continue to endure this evil?” he asked.
The crowd loudly shouted “no” and “pump it up.”
“The people of Serbia have had enough of embezzlement, theft, fraud, money laundering, cruelty, collapsing roofs, and astronomical prices imposed by you and your tax collectors. The people of Serbia no longer want to work until they gray for a fund for parasites living in absolute hedonism unlike anything this country has ever seen. The days of your theft are numbered, and there will come a day when it all ends, and that day, believe it or not, is not far off. That will be the day when every law will start to be implemented, including the Law on the Origin of Property, which you amassed massively in this country. There will be no failed state institutions you have usurped. They will be purified of all plunderers and all sleepers you have placed, in case you fall from power. Your laws will no longer exist, your police will not protect you, and you will not be able to transfer any illegally acquired property into exile if you choose to, if you want to evade justice in our courts,” he said.
LAWYER TANJA ARSIĆ: LUSTRATION IS NOT REVENGE, BUT PURIFICATION
Mentioning numerous problems, scandals, and unresolved cases in the country, as well as a set of judicial laws proposed by Uglješa Mrdić, lawyer Tanja Arsić said that if change occurs, lustration will follow, reports N1.
“Lustration does not mean revenge. It means the purification of a society, cleansing it of bad practices, of injustices you have all experienced. Everything left behind by the previous system. It is a way for society to cleanse itself and start anew, leaving the bad past behind. And to draw a clear line between what was and what will be. We would not be the first to do this. Estonia, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Poland have done it,” she said.
If a lustration law is adopted, it will not be like Mrdić’s set of laws, but implemented according to proper rules, she added.
“This is not a fight of the legal profession, but of the whole society,” she said.
“We will not remain silent; we will fight until we achieve a state where power is temporary, and the law is permanent,” she concluded.
STUDENT: ONE OF THE REMEDIES FOR HEALING SOCIETY AND THE SYSTEM IS LUSTRATION
More than a year ago, students began healing society, diagnosed its issues, and now it is time to prescribe therapy, reports N1.
One of those remedies, he says, is lustration.
“One of the remedies for the destroyed reputation of institutions, the collapse of the rule of law, and the violation of human rights is lustration. Lustration is a mechanism that allows personal accountability to be established and prohibits high-ranking officials responsible for human rights violations and abuse of office from holding public positions. Lustration is not revenge, but a protection of the state against the repetition of abuses. It means that those who used their positions for personal gain, coercion, abuse, and destruction of public interest cannot and must not decide again on the fate of citizens. This is a principle present in every serious democracy that has gone through a crisis. Lustration is not directed against ordinary people doing their jobs, but exclusively against those at the top of the system who abused trust and power,” he said.
PHILOSOPHY FACULTY STUDENT: DO YOU REMEMBER WHO WAS ACCOUNTABLE?
A Philosophy Faculty student asked the assembled crowd if they remembered who was responsible for the crime and corruption Serbia has endured for more than 13 years, reports N1.
“Do you remember who was accountable for the use of a sound cannon on March 15? Do you remember who was accountable for the security cases of political brutality against protests? Do you remember who was accountable for the use of CN gas on September 5? And do you remember who was accountable for the collapsing roof?” he asked.
“ACCOUNTABILITY EXISTS BY NAME AND SURNAME”
Freedom Square was filled, with the only free space directly in front of the stage set up at the City Hall, from which speakers addressed the crowd, reports Beta agency.
Stewards were positioned around the City Hall and throughout Freedom Square.
Among the banners, a large sign stood out with the message: “Accountability Exists by Name and Surname.”
A large number of police officers in riot gear were present at the City Hall, with about a dozen police vehicles parked in the yard of the City Assembly and next to the Banovina building.
PART OF PROFESSOR JELENA KLEUT’S SPEECH
Professor Jelena Kleut said that the students awakened hope, but this regime does not forgive hope, reports N1.
“Tomorrow is January 18, the anniversary of the first major gathering of professors at the Free University, the academic community that stood with its students. We were 4,000 then. And we took 4,000 steps from the Academy of Arts to the University campus in Novi Sad. We went out angry. Angry at yet another attempt on the life of a student in Belgrade. Angry at senseless violence against students. Due to pressures, targeting in tabloid media, and intimidation by security services. Angry at the unacademic conduct of Rector Dejan Madić and his dishonorable treatment of students,” the professor said, to which the crowd loudly responded “ua.”
“STUDENTS HAVE THE SOLUTION”
In announcing this event on Instagram, on the profiles of several faculties in blockade, students rhetorically asked: “What does the violation of human rights look like?”
“Students have the solution. January 17 Novi Sad!” they concluded in the post.
Recall, Students in Blockade ended 2025 with the action “Schedule Victory,” when on December 28 they collected 393,045 citizen signatures in just one day.
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Source: Nedeljnik, FOto: printscreen X Vladan Slavković