STUDENT CYCLISTS ON “UTISAK NEDELJE”: “Our Colleague Sent Footage to RTS Regularly—They Signed It as Their Own Cameramen!” (VIDEO)

The student cyclists who rode from Belgrade to Strasbourg to raise awareness among European institutions and the public about Serbia’s ongoing social and political crisis appeared on the popular political talk show “Utisak nedelje” to share their experiences from the two-week-long journey.

Guests of the program hosted by Olja Bećković included Sofija Janković, an architecture student; Bogdan Jelača, a medical student; Viktor Đorđioski, an electrical engineering student; and Radovan Seratlić, a reporter from Nova S – all participants of the initiative titled “Tour to Strasbourg.”

“The strongest impression for me were the people from our diaspora. Seeing Serbia from over there, freedom seemed closer,” said Viktor Đorđioski. “When I was there, what struck me most were our people with completely different worldviews. We are part of that world — we just need some time to cleanse ourselves from everything,” he added, as reported by Nova.rs.

Sofija Janković agreed, highlighting the diaspora’s overwhelming support along their route.

“When we’re met with that much love, it recharges our entire system. It’s a mix of emotions that simply brings tears — a kind of happiness when we finally reach them,” Janković shared.

Bogdan Jelača noted that the tears they saw among diaspora members were not just from joy but from pain — the sorrow of being forced to leave Serbia. “But those tears also carried hope — a belief in us students and our efforts,” he said.

When asked if they could have imagined being seen as heroes a year ago on Easter, Viktor Đorđioski responded, “I knew something in the country would change.”

Sofija built on that thought, saying the spirit of despair had been replaced by a new sense of hope.

“I think despair has passed. It marked the last 12 years. This year began with hope. Despair no longer exists in the same form. With every step, our will grows stronger and pushes us beyond every limit,” she said.

Responding to a question from Olja Bećković on whether anyone in Strasbourg was unaware of what was happening in Serbia, Bogdan said, “We were surprised by how many people had already heard about our action. Thanks to foreign media, many were informed about our tour.”

One of the most controversial points of the discussion came when Viktor Đorđioski criticized RTS, Serbia’s public broadcaster, for its lack of coverage.

“RTS didn’t send a single crew to report on our cycling tour to Strasbourg, even though a large part of Serbia was interested in following our journey,” he said. “They asked students and our own media teams who followed us to prepare and send them footage. One of our colleagues did this regularly. But RTS credited their own cameramen instead. It stayed that way until she complained and threatened to sue — only then did they finally credit Students in Blockade as the author.

Not only are they not doing their job, they’re violating every journalistic norm. They’ve truly become shameless,” Đorđioski concluded.