Photo: Srdjan Đurić"These protests are both legal and legitimate because citizens have the right to them if they think that the government is not leading the country in the right direction and if there is no other way to prevent the harmful actions of the regime"
Today in Novi Sad from 14:16 to XNUMX:XNUMX citizens will block the Bridge of Freedom that connects Novi Sad and Sremska Kamenica. The protest was supported by numerous non-governmental organizations, civil movements and opposition parties. He was even supported by the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina, which has been in the city coalition with the Serbian Progressive Party for a long time.
Although the protests have no leader, certainly one of its most recognizable faces is Novi Sad political activist Brajan Brković, who these days is being attacked by the local regime media.
The "NS Live" portal, behind which a local controversial businessman close to the SNS, who was convicted of violent behavior, is hiding, accused Brković of being the main organizer of the demonstration.
This portal calls him "Ustaša", recalling that he is the grandson of the late Montenegrin writer Jevrem Brković, and claims that Brian and his "small entourage of Đilas poodles" are behind the protest.
Brković was previously a member of the Freedom and Justice Party, and he is also known for actions such as preventing the collection of signatures for the release of the murderer Zoran Đinđić.
Brković claims for "Vreme" that there will certainly be many more citizens at today's protests than last week. He expects that citizens in Novi Sad and throughout Serbia will send a message that "they can no longer bear the usurpation of land, water, air, as well as basic civil rights and all institutions."
He also reminds that the protests were supported by many opposition political parties and civic organizations, but that - for him - is less important at the moment. He says that "every citizen is at the protest in his own name" and that this is where his strength lies.
Divisions between civic organizations and opposition political parties have been noticeable in Novi Sad for a long time, but these protests succeeded in uniting them.
"I think we are also maturing as a political society, but we have also reached a point where the citizens can no longer bear the manipulations of the regime. Simply, the regime can deceive all citizens some of the time, it can deceive some citizens all the time, but it cannot deceive all citizens all the time. I am convinced that the time has come for this kind of political synergy and that both citizens and opposition political actors have recognized it as a powerful tool in the fight against autocratic regime", says Brković.
Minister of Interior Affairs Alexander Vulin announced that "violence will be used" against citizens who block roads. Brković reminds that these protests are both legal and legitimate, because "citizens have the right to them if they think that the government is not leading the country in the right direction and if there are no other ways to prevent the harmful actions of the regime."
Like previous anti-regime demonstrations across the country in recent years, those in Novi Sad were characterized by pro-regime groups of criminals who were inserted among citizens with the aim of adding a violent character to the demonstrations.
Brković says that the organizers are ready for that this time, that "they have an answer to that, but let it remain a surprise". He says that they have a prepared answer even if the regime hires thugs who will attack the citizens.
The organizers of the Novi Sad blockade published instructions for citizens for today's protest on social networks. Among other things, they are urged to "not fall for provocations" and to bring "equipment for protection against tear gas".
It is certainly an important question how to maintain the energy of the protests in the long term and how to prevent them from ending like those of the past years, without any political consequences.
Brković replies that the protests must be non-violent, massive and long-lasting. "Serbia deserves a better present, a better future and a better government. It is an idea that transcends any individual organization or party. This is the idea from which the energy of resistance comes," says Brković.
He adds that the attacks on him are during his "term of service" and that he is not afraid of them.
"I am not afraid, and I tell all other citizens not to be afraid. Like this regimes rest on fear, and when there is no fear - there are no such regimes either", says Brković.
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