Around 160 bikers from the “White Rabbits” group from across Serbia are touring Vojvodina this weekend in support of the “Student List – Students Are Winning,” and today, on their journey through northern Bačka, they also stopped in Bačka Topola, Stari Žednik and Subotica.
Andrej Antonić from Žabalj said that the main goal of the initiative was to raise public awareness ahead of the elections about the need for everyone to exercise their right to vote and go to the polls on Sunday, October 25.
“High voter turnout is the only way for us to win. That is why our intention is to encourage as many citizens as possible to go out and vote. People’s reactions in every town have been fantastic, and they welcome us warmly. We have received a great reception everywhere, so we are ready for next week,” Antonić said.
As he explained, the bikers took on their role at the very beginning of the student and citizens’ protests.
“Generally speaking, motorcycles attract attention. Especially when there is such a large group that behaves well in traffic and greets everyone it encounters. I think our ride is having an impact. Motorcycles have always played a role in escorting student convoys, whether the students were traveling by bicycle or on foot. We somehow took on or assumed that role from the very beginning of the student and citizens’ protests,” Antonić said.
Biker Duško Jovanović from Novi Sad said that he had supported the students from the beginning, adding that they had organized themselves when protesters on foot and bicycles were being targeted by drivers trying to run them over.
“We, as motorcyclists, decided to prevent that, and I think we were successful. Today, we are promoting voter turnout and the student list under number three. We want to visit as many places as possible and be seen by as many people as possible,” Jovanović said.
He noted that people in the towns they pass through react emotionally.
“I have also traveled through western Serbia, as far as Novi Pazar, and now I am making a circuit around Vojvodina. People’s reactions are good, even better than we expected. Personally, I am incredibly proud to have the opportunity to be part of this initiative,” Jovanović said.
Helena Smiljanić from Novi Sad, one of what she estimates to be around twenty female bikers taking part in the initiative, said she joined the group “because she wants a better tomorrow” and believes that motorcyclists are succeeding in their aim of raising public awareness.
“It means a lot to me to be able to be part of this story. I have always taken part. Thirty years ago, and now I will do so again. The feeling is beautiful, so wonderful that everyone should experience it in their lives,” Smiljanić said.
The reception for the “White Rabbits” at the Manifestation Square in Bačka Topola was organized by the citizens’ assembly “iZBORimo se,” and the gathering was secured by the police, while residents of Subotica welcomed the bikers in the park in the Prozivka neighborhood.
The bikers set off from Novi Sad this morning, on the second day of their ride through Vojvodina, then passed through Bačka Palanka, Savino Selo, Kula, Bačka Topola and Subotica, from where they continued their journey to Senta and Temerin.
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