ProGlas member Gojko Božović talks to DW about what he expects from the June 28 protest in Belgrade, about spin dictatorships, about the "undeclared state of emergency" in Serbia, about Bokan as "revenge of the regime against the cultural community."
While the big one is being announced student protest for June 28th, and the social and political temperature in Serbia is rising, Gojko Božović, member of the ProGlas initiative, for Deutsche says it talks about the deep crisis the country is in - and the attempt to end that crisis through collective resistance. For Božović, the protests are not a sudden reaction, but the result of long-term dissatisfaction that is only intensifying.
"I expect that the protest on June 28 will be a manifestation of great popular discontent. I believe that it will be massive, peaceful and that it will show the persistence of society that is looking for positive changes," assesses Božović.
Although Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić still rejects the possibility of calling extraordinary parliamentary elections, students are preparing their own electoral list, and ProGlas remains consistent with its civil, non-partisan position.
"ProGlas is not a movement for small changes and compromises. We are looking for systemic changes, and they start with a change of regime," he adds.
Božović reminds that the initiative also presented a program for "the day after", which every democratic government would have to implement in the first six months - from freedom of the media to reforms of electoral legislation. For him, the current crisis did not start yesterday - it has been going on for years, and for the last two years, as he says, Serbia has been living in an "undeclared state of emergency".
"The elections in Zaječar and Kosjerić showed everything: buying votes, bringing in voters who do not live in those places. These are not regular elections," said Božović.
When asked about the appointment of Dragoslav Bokan as the president of the Board of Directors of the National Theater, Božović gives a clear answer: he says it is a punishment of the regime.
"It is revenge on the cultural community because it stood by the civil and student protests. The regime cannot manage culture with decrees, and especially not someone who does not belong to that community," the writer points out.
As an example of a broader policy of "disciplining culture", Božović cites the suspension of city competitions, the postponement of traditional events and the ignoring of reputable institutions such as Steria's theater. All this, he says, is part of the same pattern of repression and control.
In parallel with Peru and the election of Albert Fujimori, Božović warns that Serbia may experience a similar scenario if, as he says, "it decides for another spin dictatorship".
"Spin dictatorships are not established by coup - they are built through manipulation, control of the media and destruction of public space. People cannot choose if they do not have information," Božović suggests.
In the end, talking about the 18 years of Archipelago, the publishing house he founded, Božović shows that even in these circumstances one can persevere in high culture. Among the plans are new editions by Mihajlo Pantić, a book on Danilo Kiš and studies on authoritarianism in the Balkans.
In the days before the big student protest, his answers confirm something deeper: that culture and democracy are fundamentally connected, and that the struggle for both is inseparable.
Nenad Stefanović filed a disciplinary complaint against Branko Stamenković, claiming that his public appearances damaged the reputation and trust in the work of the public prosecutor's office. Among the disputed statements is the one that Stamenković gave to the weekly "Vreme", talking about the "para-prosecutor system" in Belgrade.
"I have not terminated the employment contract of any employee," said the principal of the "20. Oktobar" elementary school, Gordana Radojević, in her denial regarding the article about the parents demanding her resignation. He claims that the employees left at their own request or their fixed-term contracts expired.
The mayor of Smederevo, Jasmina Vojinović, was arrested along with two other city officials
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At the moment when the institutions of the Republic are destroyed, when Vučić's octopus is still alive, when people are disgusted by the injustice and the stench left behind by the Essenes regime, we have, as Machiavelli said, only civic virtue as the fuel with which we can return to the beginning
The four independent members of REM are an example of perseverance and civic responsibility. Rodoljub Šabić even, upon leaving the premises of REM, after the sentencing of the Informer, experienced that the Essenes insulted him, hit him with their hands and feet. But that too will soon be over
Vučić pardoned the batterers and Dijana Hrkalović. The election winners should abolish the sultan's power that allows one man to run afoul of the entire judicial system
Interview: Branko Stamenković, public prosecutor of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office
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