Congratulations to the Serbian Olympians on the results achieved in Paris. Congratulations from the heart. It is a painstaking path full of renunciation and internal wrestling that leads to top results, anyone who has tried even a little bit in competitive sports knows that. All Serbian athletes who qualified for the Olympic Games deserve to be recognized Slavs, especially those who won medals. They performed for their country and brought it another part of eternal glory. Sports ones.
WELCOME TO SERBIAN OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERSPhoto: Vladimir Šporčić/Tanjug
On Monday evening, thousands of citizens gave our Olympic champions, vice-champions and third-place finishers a traditional welcome in front of the Old Court. They celebrated, rejoiced, sang, shouted "long live Serbia!", were in a patriotic mood, declared mutual love between the athletes and their people - the former bring joy to the others, the latter give the former strength to withstand the exhausting challenges of sports competitions.
A small, tiny speck in the national joy were some activists of the Start-change movement, who unfurled the banner "You will not dig", and also shouted "Rio Tinto, march from Serbia". They were detained., the legal basis was probably disturbing the atmosphere during the celebration.
Group portrait with Vučić
The celebration in front of the Assembly of Belgrade was preceded by a reception with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, at Andrić's Wreath. The president is a little presidential, a little like that in his own way give me five congratulated the golden, silver and bronze Serbian heroes with the manner acquired in the stands, shaking hands with some, hugging with others, group portrait with all of them. After their success in Paris, the Serbian Olympians came to their president for praise.
Olympiad_docek_21Photo: Zoran Mrđa/FoNet
Their glory is also his glory because he is the president of all citizens of Serbia. It was a beautiful image of the unity of the highest at the state summit with the athletes, an image of the normality of a country and the modesty of the man who leads it before the achievements of athletes who are among the best or the best in the world.
It was then extended to the Assembly of Belgrade to celebrate a little more relaxed, because it would still not be appropriate to give oneself a loud celebratory breath in front of the president.
Two pictures of Serbia
It was the second mass gathering of citizens of Serbia in the center of Belgrade in just two days - on Saturday under the slogan "There will be no mines", against lithium mining, Rio Tinto and the president who really advocated for Serbian lithium in the Jadra valley to see the light of day and European markets as soon as possible.
Photo: AP/Darko VojinovićProtest against lithium mining in Terazije, August 10 / Photo: AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic
Saturday's gathering was followed by the all-night vigilance of the controlled media on the protesters, nebulous statements of the president and all his people about foreign mercenaries and foreign secret services prowling Serbia, accusations of treason. The usual reaction of the party-state machinery to the public expression of any resentment directed against the president.
This was followed by the arrests of three environmental activists (for now) and express judgments to 40 and 30 days in prison.
While there was celebration on Monday evening with and without Vučić, the deadline of Tuesday at 12 o'clock that the environmental activists gave to the president for their comrades to be released from prison passed. Otherwise, they say, there will be new blockades.
Those two pictures of Serbia in Belgrade within two days open the dilemma of Faust from Goethe's "Faust", which in a free translation reads: two souls live, ah, in my chest, one wants to separate from the other.
