A group of professors from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, sent a letter to the European Union Ambassador to Serbia, Andreas von Beckerath, in which they express “deep concern over the accelerated collapse” of the State University of Novi Pazar (DUNP) and call on the EU Delegation to react urgently.
The letter followed recent visits by Ambassador von Beckerath to Novi Pazar, during which he highlighted the importance of civil society, democracy, and the rule of law on Serbia’s European path.
The professors state that they were particularly alarmed after Ahmed Koničanin, an Economics Department student at DUNP and a participant in student protests, lost his student status, which they assess as “an obvious act of retaliation” due to his peaceful civic engagement. Koničanin had previously participated in a Stanford University panel on Democracy Day, shortly after completing a sixteen-day, 400-kilometer march dedicated to the anniversary of the tragedy at the Novi Sad railway station.
The signatories point out that Koničanin is not the only one; several students and professors have allegedly been expelled, fired, or had their contracts not renewed, while some departments have been shut down.
They particularly highlight the events of July 29, 2025, when masked members of private security, in the presence of Rector Dolićanin, violently evicted students from the university premises.
“The destruction of DUNP has deep consequences for minority rights, regional development, and the European aspirations of Serbia,” the letter states, emphasizing that the university plays a key role in the education of the Bosniak community in Sandžak.
The professors also warn of the “incendiary rhetoric” of certain state officials and pro-government media after the protests, especially rhetoric that, as they state, “abuses ethnic lines” and fuels national divisions.
“We call on the Delegation of the European Union to publicly demand the immediate return of all students and professors who have been expelled or disciplined due to participation in peaceful protests at the State University of Novi Pazar; put pressure for the appointment of an interim administration dedicated to restoring academic standards, protecting university autonomy, and ensuring the continued operation of DUNP in accordance with European norms of higher education; monitor and publicly react to incendiary rhetoric from state officials or state-affiliated media that seeks to exploit ethnic or religious divisions in response to peaceful civic engagement; include the situation at DUNP in the European Union’s regular reports on Serbia’s progress towards EU membership, especially concerning academic freedoms, minority rights, and the rule of law,” they stated in the letter.
The letter was signed by “Sara Hart Kimball” Professor of the Humanities Branislav Jakovljević, Alberto Díaz-Cayeros, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Professor (by courtesy) of Political Science, Pavle Levi, “Osgood Hooker” Professor of Visual Arts, Srđan Keča, Associate Professor of Documentary Film at Stanford University, and Assistant Professor Đorđe Popović from the University of California, Berkeley.
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Source: N1; Photo: ATA Images