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
Dean of the Faculty of Philology Iva Draškić Vićanović gave the students that were blockading the building until 4pm to leave the building, stating that the reason is the entrance exam taking place there. Students have asked the citizens to join them in a support rally at 3pm outside of the institution in question. The post Dean of the Faculty of Philology demands that students remove their personal belongings from the faculty building; support rally for students is announced appeared fir...| 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
The student protest on St. Vitus Day, a significant national and religious holiday in Serbia, was held on Saturday in Belgrade. 140,000 people joined while supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party gathered in their counter protest in Pionirski Park. Here's a breakdown of what followed. The post Belgrade’s Mass Protest and the Clashes that Followed: A Recap of Events appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
Mašina spoke with Palestinian writer Toufic Haddad ahead of his appearance at Palestine Day in Belgrade, which will take place on Sunday, June 22, at the Liberated Student Cultural Center (SKC) from 2 PM to 10 PM. The post Neoliberalism as a Colonial Strategy in Palestine: A Conversation with Toufic Haddad appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
Labour and LGBT+ rights during student and popular protests in Serbia. The post When will the tractors come to Pride? appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
Students blockading their universities yesterday filed a criminal complaint against the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, for what they describe as an unauthorized visit to an intensive care unit on March 17, when he visited North Macedonian citizens who were severely burned and injured in a fire in the city of Kočani. The post Students in Blockade File a Criminal Complaint Against President of Serbia appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
On Vidovdan, June 28, two gatherings will be held in Belgrade. Students blockading universities have announced a protest, as has the Minister for Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue. At the latter’s gathering, the “Movement for the People and the State” will be formally unveiled. The post Two Gatherings in Belgrade on Vidovdan: A Choice Between Empires appeared first on Mašina English.| Mašina English
Today, the defense’s appeal to free the six imprisoned activists was officially accepted by the court and will now be considered. Organizers gave court employees unimpeded access to enter the building until 11 a.m. to perform their duties, but employees were ordered by superiors to exit the building by 10:30 a.m.| 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
For a week, street blockades and other acts of civil disobedience have broken out throughout Serbia. In Belgrade, Niš, Novi Sad, and other cities, citizens have been blocking intersections and major roads to demand that the government hold snap parliamentary elections. In response, the police have been beating and arresting students and citizens alike – further fueling outrage and raising the stakes of a movement that shows no signs of backing down.| Mašina English
Is the worker of the 21st century even a worker? Or have they become a number, a resource, a benefit user, an identification card? In the private sector the worker is no longer a political subject. They are reduced to a function within a system that teaches them to be lucky to have a job at all. The right to voice discontent? It exists today only as a clause in the employment contract, right next to the one about loyalty to the company.| Mašina English
Students and citizens spent the last two nights blockading the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), in downtown Belgrade. Since April 14, students had blockaded several broadcasting centers in Belgrade and Novi Sad to call for a new bid by the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) or for RTS to be shut down due to its inaccurate reporting on the current uprising in Serbia.| Mašina English
The proposed new Prime Minister of Serbia is Dr. Đuro Macut. Although there are those who have faith in the professional qualifications of the well-known endocrinologist, few truly believe that the future prime minister will be able to independently lead the government.| Mašina English
Following the largest student-led protest in Serbia, that took place in Belgrade on March 15, the question about “what’s next” is on the agenda. The fight continues, and with it, discussions about “systemic” change: beyond ethno-nationalist anti-systemic narratives or liberal calls of an expert government, the class conflict, which arises from the concreteness of the student struggle, i.e.: for a (self-organized) society as a political community, should be emphasized.| Mašina English
Students blockading faculties at the University of Novi Sad announced a daring and exhausting journey of over 1,000 kilometers to deliver documentation on human rights violations in Serbia to the European Court of Human Rights.| Mašina English
Civil society organisations received over 3000 submissions about the incident at the protest on March 15; both domestic and international institutions must respond.| Mašina English
Belgrade students will host peers from all over Serbia on March 15. Students, together with high school graduates, are travelling on foot and by bicycle to the big protest. While the students and pupils are walking towards Belgrade, an appeal comes from the blockade at the faculty of Organisational Sciences to all citizens of Serbia to "weave threads of support into the great banner of resistance" with their actions.| Mašina English
An overwhelming majority of Serbian citizens support most of the students' demands, and a third of the population reports having participated in the ongoing protests, according to new research conducted by the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA).| Mašina English
Students across Serbia are heading to the central Serbian city of Kragujevac by foot. Upon their arrival, fellow students from the city will welcome their peers with a protest program to celebrate Serbia’s Statehood Day in a way never seen before. Once again, students are being welcomed as heroes, and the entire nation is overjoyed: Kragujevac is the next liberated city.| Mašina English
Students blockading the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad announced that students were violently attacked last night, leaving several injured. A protest in support of the students has been scheduled for 4 PM in Novi Sad.| Mašina English
As the war in Ukraine continues, Russian citizens face mounting repression at home, forcing many into exile. Among them is a former theater professional, who, for safety reasons, has chosen to remain anonymous. She fled to Serbia after years of activism and aiding political prisoners. Her journey is a stark reminder of how fragile freedoms can be – and a quiet cautionary tale for Serbia, where concerns about shrinking civic space echo the early signs of authoritarianism she once faced in Ru...| Mašina English
