Protests which were organized by several environmental organizations the past two Saturdays were the most massive in the past two decades. At about fifty points in Serbia, roads, intersections, main roads, bridges were blocked for one hour on the first Saturday, and for two hours on the second. In Belgrade, the highway near the Sava center was blocked.
Two conditions were set for the authorities to end the blockades: Amendment of the Referendum Law - which has already entered into force and according to which a referendum has already been called in January for changes to the Constitution in the area of the judiciary - and the withdrawal of the Law on Expropriation.
Under the pressure of the protest, the Minister of Finance Sinish Mali announced on the order of the President Aleksandar Vučić that on Thursday the Law on Expropriation will be returned to the National Assembly for revision. Despite Vučić's statements that "the street will not determine the politics of Serbia as long as he is alive" and that he will "probably sign" that law, the government backed down in the face of the unexpected mass and well-organized protests.
The impression of unity of a large number of different movements, organizations and political parties that participated in the blockades was broken on Sunday in the "Impression of the Week" by the activists of the Move-Change movement. Savo Manojlović and the leader of Together for Serbia and the former mayor of Šabac Nebojsa Zelenovic.
Director Srdjan Dragojevic sat between the two mostly exposed to cross-disagreement.
Manojlović reproached Zelenović for "breaking the agreement" by expanding the number of protest demands to the dismissal of the chief Regulatory body for electronic media Olivera Zekić and all his members, and according to the urgent procedure, the adoption of a law that would ban the mining of lithium in the Jadra valley for all time.
"If all the numerous participants in the protest add their wishes, we will turn into a jukebox," said Manojlović. He recalled the "1 out of 5 million" protest when the overwhelming demands made it impossible to know what they were talking about.
He stated that the protest backfired because of this, and that now, when Vučić was "backed up against the wall", new demands would only dilute the protest and give Vučić the opportunity to extricate himself from this situation.
Manojlovic also said that the citizens "finally need one victory" and that is why the focus should be kept on two specific initial demands.
Zelenović replied that "the agreement was to negotiate". He said that people took to the streets in such large numbers "because they are angry" and that they are fed up with a lot of what is happening in society and politics, and not only because of the two disputed laws and Rio Tinto.
"With 100.000 people on the streets, we want to nail down the matter," Zelenović said. He characterized REM as "one of the pillars of the government" and said that this energy should be used and "hit" on him as well.
Manojlović replied that the tactics that bring results should not be changed, and that the protests will not succeed if demands are added every week and that some "talking in front of the Assembly will not change anything", that roadblocks should be kept, because that is what hurts this government.
Zelenović persisted in his opinion that now "once and for all" it is necessary to break up with Rio Tinto and all the mining companies that have set their eyes on lithium in the Jadra valley, because that is what the people are pressing for, and repeated that it is necessary to "nail the matter down".
In the past few days, it has been obvious that Vučić and the Serbian Progressive Party have no real answer to roadblocks. By announcing some amendments and amendments to the Law on Expropriation, which should enter the parliamentary procedure on Thursday and be completed by the end of the year, it only gains time.
One of the demands of the protest, to amend the Law on Referendum, is certainly difficult for the President of Serbia to fulfill, because in that case he would not be able to preserve the image of unyielding and invincible, since he has already signed that law.
Road blockades throughout Serbia have been announced for next Saturday.
AI/Nova S
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