Five deans faculty from Novi Sad, Subotica and Sombor condemned violence nad to students and participants civil protests which is carried out in recent days.
The statement was signed by: Dean of the Faculty of Economics in Subotica Aleksandar Čučković, Dean of the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad Zoran Krajišnik, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Novi Sad Srđan Rončević, Dean of the Faculty of Education in Sombor Saša Marković and Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Subotica Milan Trifković.
They identified as responsible for the violence, "both individual members of the police, as well as masked groups of unidentified persons, among whom there are armed men."
The deans state that for the public, testimonies about the connection of these actors with the ruling parties are additionally disturbing.
Threats to the safety of citizens
They assessed that "frequent sudden arrests and forced detentions with questionable legal justifications pose a threat to the safety of citizens and encourage additional anxiety among the population."
They also stated that "the use of excessive force in an attempt to prevent the democratic expression of protest has already caused violent reactions."
"For this reason, we are afraid of the escalation of violence that could follow," these deans emphasized.
"The increasingly pronounced repression, which is primarily carried out against students, casts doubt on the intention to normalize the situation in society through peaceful means, but additionally destabilizes the already problematic situation at the faculties," they state.
Faculty work threatened again
They remind that the majority of faculties have started holding classes and exams, in accordance with the previous agreements with the Ministry of Education, but these activities, as they state, are again threatened due to the aforementioned actions of the authorities.
They called on "responsible representatives of state bodies to represent the objective interests of the state and all its citizens, instead of contributing to the worsening of relations in society with their unilateral determination."
"We fear that the situation is further aggravated and radicalized, and for this reason we insist on the renewal of dialogue and conversation so that reason prevails and the social crisis is directed towards a parliamentary struggle that is suitable for a multi-party democratic society," said these deans.
Source: 021
