March 15: Showdown with Unauthorized

After a full day Autocommand blocks at the end of January, the "protest caravan" moved from the north to the south of Serbia. From Novi Sad, through Kragujevac, to Niš - the mass protest is now returning to the capital. Students in the blockade called on a big gathering on Saturday, March 15 in Belgrade, and the plans of the organization are still hidden from the public eye.

However, that date is considered by many as D-Day, thus alluding to the final resolution of the political and social crisis. However, each in their own way, writes DW.

"We have a country and we will show you a country"

Authorities have often warned of riots in recent days, although students have again called for peaceful assembly.

Thus, President Aleksandar Vučić, in a guest appearance on RTS, said that state structures are well versed in the plans of individuals who will abuse "blockades", and that "it is almost impossible to avoid violence on Saturday, because the most serious crimes against the Republic of Serbia will be committed".

"We don't count on the good will of the mob." We have a country and we will show you a country. "Our units will withstand the attack, but then the state will behave as it should, retaliate and arrest all rioters," said the president.

The interlocutors of DW point out that such a narrative is very dangerous and harmful, but that it is marketed with only one goal - preventing mass protests.

Will there really be a D-Day?

Journalist Boško Jakšić reminds that student protests have never caused violence, which is why the announcements of riots by the highest state officials "may be preparation of the ground and that is of particular concern."

"The narrative of D-Day is fabricated by the government, presenting it as a day of invasion, war, conflict. Speaking so dramatically aims to make people afraid of potential violence and judge that it is better for them to stay at home," Jakšić told DW.

"With that rhetoric, he no longer excludes repression, but it is interpreted as the task of the state to defend itself." However, here is the problem of equating the state and the government. No one is threatening the state, but it is a serious criticism of the system, so that story about a colored revolution is a fabrication and a very transparent manipulation that does not pass".

"Psychological war against one's own people"

The open announcement of the escalation of violence also worries psychologist Ana Mirković, who evaluates such statements by government representatives as a "psychological war waged against one's own people."

"That war is rude, unscrupulous and doesn't choose the means, and in this offensive it launched, it has only one goal - that as few people as possible come to Belgrade on the 15th." That's why he sows fear, hatred, tries to move everything to a field where he is absolutely dominant, where he has complete control and feels more comfortable," Mirković explained to DW.

She is also skeptical of the announcements that it will be a decisive day in any respect, but she believes that the unpredictability of the students, who have shown that they are wise and thoughtful, "will lead us into some next phase, which will also be the final one."

"That's why I think that his propaganda campaigns with which he wants to challenge the massiveness of the protests have no chance, that the power of the people will show itself in its full capacity and that is his biggest nightmare," says the psychologist.

What do students say?

Students very carefully present information about the upcoming blockade, stating that it is a large and complex organization of the biggest protest so far.

As student Marija Macek says, they are not afraid of the announced riots, because they believe that it will be easy to recognize "when someone is performing as an individual and when as part of a collective". However, he points out that an additional problem will be how to protect the students who are camping in front of the Presidency, members of the so-called the Studenti 2.0 group, which opposes faculty blockades.

"Although we do not agree with them ideologically, we must not allow anyone to touch them. In the same way as we would guard the people who came to our protest, we must also guard the people in front of the Presidency. A lot goes into that equation, but I believe there won't be any major problems."

State of emergency or continuation of blockades

In recent days, the media has been talking about the possibility of introducing a state of emergency, which would allegedly occur in the event of major disturbances during the upcoming protest.

Boško Jakšić does not rule out that possibility. He points out that "the degree of uncertainty is high, because the government has no answer and it is only logical that they will resort to repression or a state of emergency."

"Vučić used all possible instruments to pacify the protests." At first with repression through their paid beaters, then with an attempt to bribe students with cheap housing loans, then with a story about foreign intelligence services, Croats, Aljbin Kurti and the color revolution. When none of that has passed, the possibility of resorting to declaring a state of emergency in moments of complete despair cannot be ruled out," Jakšić assesses.

Political scientist Andrijana Lazarevic still believes that "we cannot talk about a state of emergency in the constitutional sense". She is of the opinion that the most realistic scenario is the continuation of blockades.

"These protests have already set some political boundaries that future governments will not be able to easily ignore." Although the demands were not fully met, the mobilization created a new political reality in which the government must make certain concessions. Blockades could lead to a 'reset' of political reality and pressure on institutions to fulfill certain demands," Lazarevic believes.

What after March 15th?

Marija, a student in her final year of speech therapy at the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation in Belgrade, tells DW that they are afraid of little, but reminds that the students are "putting a lot on the line" with this protest.

"We are aware of everything we can lose." This whole blockade is a high-level sacrifice, we can lose the whole year. Are we afraid? No, because we are ready to sacrifice ourselves for a higher goal, ie. our demands," she says.

And when asked what to do after the protest, he charmingly replied that we should turn to the competent institutions. "We're the wrong people to be asking at this point."