Almost 90 percent of young people in Serbia support student protests and university blockades, and more than 90 percent would vote in parliamentary elections if they were held next week, according to the Alternative Report on the Position and Needs of Youth 2025. However, 62 percent believe that elections are neither free nor fair, while as many as 95 percent negatively assess the government’s response to student demonstrations.| Mašina English
From admiration for the student movement to criticism of nationalist symbols during the Vidovdan protest, foreign media coverage of events in Serbia since November 1 of last year has gone through different phases. Judging by the latest headlines, however, autocrat Aleksandar Vučić is running out of room to maneuver. The country he leads is sinking deeper into chaos, and Europe is being urged to increase pressure on his regime in Belgrade. The post Fear as strategy and Europe’s Passivity: ...| Mašina English
Recent protests across Serbia have often been described in the media and on social networks as a “civil war.” But political scientists, security experts, and historians interviewed by Mašina explain why the current state in Serbia cannot be described as a civil war, as they address what we are actually witnessing, and what is lies beneath the escalated repression.| Mašina English
Tear gas, smoke bombs, police beatings, and the military. The second day of mass protests in Serbia has been marked by arrests, police brutality, attacks on journalists and government impunity. However, citizens do not appear to be backing down. What exactly has transpired on the streets of Serbia these past three days?| Mašina English
All day, police blocked the entrance to the State University in Novi Pazar (DUNP), a Muslim-majority city in southeastern Serbia. In the early hours this morning, masked individuals forcibly removed student protesters from the building, leaving one student injured. As students from across the country flocked in support, students regained access to the building and chanted "Victory!" Citizens are now organizing protest blockades across the country in solidarity. The post Masked Men Violently E...| Mašina English
The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade has announced that it has given an order to the First Instance Public Prosecutor’s Office to form a case regarding the alleged misappropriation of property from the Student Cultural Center. The post Prosecutor’s Office calls for investigation into alleged theft of equipment at the Student Cultural Center appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
The Freed SKC initiative reports that, this morning, the police and SKC admin broke into the freed building of SKC in the Kralj Milan 48 street. The post Police and the Student Cultural Center (SKC) Admin took over the Freed SKC building appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
The government’s tactic of pretending not to notice civil rebellion and a comprehensive social and political crisis, i.e. to play the waiting game over a long period of time has, at least it appears so, started to work. Summer’s begun, the intensity of protests has gone down, the students are slowly returning to their academic duties. Despite everything though, small fires of resistance are continuing to ignite, mostly on the local level. What remains is the question of how to continue, t...| Mašina English
Despite the administration denying it, the destruction of the Belgrade fair complex has unofficially begun. Students have called on citizens to gather in front of Sajam on 17th of July, so they could, as they state, stop “the destruction of another symbol of our city.” During the action, police detained one student and two citizens. The post Another symbol of Belgrade is being targeted – the students aren’t giving up on Sajam appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
Classes are formally starting, quotas have been approved, and entrance exams set. In some places, online classes are being met with boycotts while university students are met with repression. Still, the fight for autonomy of universities and a just society is not stopping with the instatement of online classes – it’s just transforming. The post Classes start but resistance persists appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
The magistrates’ court in Užice accepted the appeal of the defenders of the arrested and granted bail for the seven arrested last week in Užice The post Public pressure in Serbia came to fruition: custody lifted for seven activists appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
30 days of detention have been ordered for nine residents of the western city of Užice following protests during which citizens broke through the police cordon. Ahead of the St. Vitus protest on June 28, police detained eight other individuals and accused them of planning to potentially "undermining the constitutional order" – in other words, terrorism. Seven of them received the same sentence as those from Užice. In total, 16 people are currently behind bars, three of whom are students. ...| Mašina English
“No one is tired!” can be heard, almost by default, at every protest, blockade or organized action of civil disobedience across Serbia. Citizens, fueled by the student movement’s energy, use this slogan to make it clear to the current regime that no extreme heat, increased repression or eight months of relentless struggle will stop them. The question that remains is – how?| Mašina English
