{"id":198500,"date":"2026-01-18T16:08:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T14:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=198500"},"modified":"2026-01-18T16:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T14:08:08","slug":"lustration-is-not-revenge-but-purification-these-are-the-key-messages-from-the-major-student-protest-in-novi-sad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/lustration-is-not-revenge-but-purification-these-are-the-key-messages-from-the-major-student-protest-in-novi-sad\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLUSTRATION IS NOT REVENGE, BUT PURIFICATION\u201d: These Are the Key Messages from the Major Student Protest in Novi Sad!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The protest titled \u201cWhat Does Victory Mean?\u201d called by Students in Blockade was held last night at Freedom Square in Novi Sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 Arsi\u0107, and lawyer Predrag Bogovac, who spoke about lustration and the implementation of the Law on the Origin of Property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PART OF THE SPEECH BY THE LAW FACULTY STUDENT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that Serbia is divided between modern tyrants and the impoverished masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe 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?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The crowd loudly shouted \u201cno\u201d and \u201cpump it up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-serbiantimes-info wp-block-embed-serbiantimes-info\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"FmYT2LWmBv\"><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/tramp-krece-po-grenland-uvek-carine-za-najblize-saveznike-koji-su-poslali-vojnike-na-to-ostrvo-evo-ko-je-na-udaru\/\">TRAMP OBJAVIO RAT SAVEZNICIMA ZBOG GRENLANDA: \u201cPove\u0107a\u0107u carine svim NATO zemljama koje se budu protivile ameri\u010dkom preuzimanju ostrva!\u201d<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#132;TRAMP OBJAVIO RAT SAVEZNICIMA ZBOG GRENLANDA: \u201cPove\u0107a\u0107u carine svim NATO zemljama koje se budu protivile ameri\u010dkom preuzimanju ostrva!\u201d&#147; &#8212; Serbiantimes.info\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/tramp-krece-po-grenland-uvek-carine-za-najblize-saveznike-koji-su-poslali-vojnike-na-to-ostrvo-evo-ko-je-na-udaru\/embed\/#?secret=hmc3bGXmpu#?secret=FmYT2LWmBv\" data-secret=\"FmYT2LWmBv\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>LAWYER TANJA ARSI\u0106: LUSTRATION IS NOT REVENGE, BUT PURIFICATION<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mentioning numerous problems, scandals, and unresolved cases in the country, as well as a set of judicial laws proposed by Uglje\u0161a Mrdi\u0107, lawyer Tanja Arsi\u0107 said that if change occurs, lustration will follow, reports N1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLustration 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a lustration law is adopted, it will not be like Mrdi\u0107\u2019s set of laws, but implemented according to proper rules, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is not a fight of the legal profession, but of the whole society,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe will not remain silent; we will fight until we achieve a state where power is temporary, and the law is permanent,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>STUDENT: ONE OF THE REMEDIES FOR HEALING SOCIETY AND THE SYSTEM IS LUSTRATION<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than a year ago, students began healing society, diagnosed its issues, and now it is time to prescribe therapy, reports N1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of those remedies, he says, is lustration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOne 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PHILOSOPHY FACULTY STUDENT: DO YOU REMEMBER WHO WAS ACCOUNTABLE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDo 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?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cACCOUNTABILITY EXISTS BY NAME AND SURNAME\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stewards were positioned around the City Hall and throughout Freedom Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the banners, a large sign stood out with the message: \u201cAccountability Exists by Name and Surname.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PART OF PROFESSOR JELENA KLEUT\u2019S SPEECH<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Professor Jelena Kleut said that the students awakened hope, but this regime does not forgive hope, reports N1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTomorrow 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 Madi\u0107 and his dishonorable treatment of students,\u201d the professor said, to which the crowd loudly responded \u201cua.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSTUDENTS HAVE THE SOLUTION\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In announcing this event on Instagram, on the profiles of several faculties in blockade, students rhetorically asked: \u201cWhat does the violation of human rights look like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cStudents have the solution. January 17 Novi Sad!\u201d they concluded in the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recall, Students in Blockade ended 2025 with the action \u201cSchedule Victory,\u201d when on December 28 they collected 393,045 citizen signatures in just one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/humanost-na-delu-studenti-u-blokadi-subotice-prikupili-pomoc-za-13-ugrozenih-porodica-foto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">HUMANITY IN ACTION: Students in the blockade of Subotica collected aid for 13 vulnerable families! (PHOTO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/tesla-still-shapes-the-modern-world-today-consul-general-bozovic-opened-a-conference-in-new-york-dedicated-to-the-serbian-scientist-photo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">\u201cTESLA STILL SHAPES THE MODERN WORLD TODAY\u201d: Consul General Bozovic opened a conference in New York dedicated to the Serbian scientist! (PHOTO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/they-asked-me-to-say-that-i-testified-falsely-olgica-has-been-enduring-torture-for-months-because-she-will-be-on-the-student-list-in-bajina-basta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">\u201cTHEY ASKED ME TO SAY THAT I TESTIFIED FALSELY\u201d: Olgica has been enduring torture for months because she will be on the student list in Bajina Basta!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/brussels-ignores-their-demands-truck-drivers-from-serbia-and-bih-announced-a-blockade-of-all-border-crossings-with-schengen-countries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">BRUSSELS IGNORES THEIR DEMANDS: Truck drivers from Serbia and BiH announced a blockade of all border crossings with Schengen countries!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/hilandar-turned-white-snow-delighted-serbian-monks-after-almost-a-decade-photo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">HILANDAR TURNED WHITE: Snow delighted Serbian monks after almost a decade! (PHOTO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/today-we-celebrate-little-christmas-heres-what-this-holiday-represents-and-what-customs-to-practice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">TODAY WE CELEBRATE LITTLE CHRISTMAS: Here\u2019s what this holiday represents and what customs to practice!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><strong>Source<\/strong><\/strong>: <strong> <\/strong>Nedeljnik, <strong>FOto<\/strong>: printscreen X Vladan Slavkovi\u0107<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The protest titled \u201cWhat Does Victory Mean?\u201d 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 Arsi\u0107, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":198501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[9040,806,6333,642,113,2490],"class_list":["post-198500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-serbia","tag-lustracija","tag-novi-sad","tag-pravni-fakultet","tag-protest","tag-srbija","tag-studenti","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Serbiantimes.info EN","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198500"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":198546,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198500\/revisions\/198546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}