Photo: AP PhotoWith touching seriousness and dignity, a huge number of people showed what an alternative to an arrogant, heartless and irresponsible regime that sucks every atom of normality and coherence looks like. They were brought to the street solely by the moral imperative, personal and collective
How many of us were there on May 19, 2023? Some say - never so much since October 2000, XNUMX. Others claim - even more than then, perhaps the most ever. Actually, it doesn't even matter: Belgrade is witnessing probably the most dignified gathering of citizens in its history. And to make everything even more impressive, the day before it was practically unknown the time of the gathering or - right before the start of the protest walk - whether the goal was to block the Gazelle again or something else.
Again, it didn't matter. The people took to the streets due to a moral imperative, personal and collective. No one remembers anything like that, no one needed to explain anything: old and young walked in a huge, multi-kilometer column, feeling in their guts that the horror of legitimized hate speech, aggression and violence must finally end. With their touching seriousness and dignity, all these people showed what an alternative looks like to an arrogant, heartless and irresponsible regime that sucks every atom of normality and coherence.
The government and its media can say whatever they want, i can lie as much as they want, but the gathering on May 19 was not political in its essence, but primarily civilizational. The atmosphere of tolerance, common sense and free breathing was tried to be disrupted by fascist groups on the side of the Service - they would exclusively attack women and be quickly chased away. Otherwise, no one paid attention to their verbal provocations.
If Aleksandar Vučić planned to show his strength on the street at his rally scheduled for May 26, he lost in advance. No matter how many people and buses he mobilizes, no matter how many daily allowances and sandwiches he distributes, it will be nothing but a forced and sad farce. The morality of people who freely represent what they think and feel is never the same, nor can it be, and the morality of a blackmailed, intimidated and bribed party crowd. People recognize and appreciate that. And how much the progressives' energy and self-confidence have fallen, anyone can see if they compare theirs meeting in Pancevo and that of the citizens of Belgrade, held on the same day at the same time.
What will happen next?
Vučić himself is primarily responsible for the biggest crisis of his government. Together with the team, every step since the tragedies of May 3 and 4, he has brought thousands of new citizens to the streets. At least two facts bear witness to the actual execution of the regime. The first: as a real frightened authoritarian, Vučić declares mass gatherings of citizens to be the work of Western secret services and calls those "brothers from the East"; actually talking about some new form of the Fifth of October, Kanda identifies himself with Putin, promising that there will be no Maidan in Belgrade like in Kiev.
And another fact: the head of state demonstrates serious personal insecurity by simultaneously insulting the opposition and offering it negotiations. Perhaps he is counting on the fact that some of those parties - generally mutually competitive - might accept cosmetic crumbs, while he avoids substantive concessions. But is there a mother's son who can trust Vučić at this moment, both in the country and outside it? And he himself is responsible for that.
So what awaits us? Hasty, unprepared actions on a nervous basis will not and cannot decide anything. What is possible is the dignity, non-violent resistance, perseverance and determination of the citizens. Just like May 19, 2023.
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