People who puncture other people's tires

"Have you seen the asphalt? They have four sure voices from that house. We asked for at least two poles to be placed here, but they said it was not possible."

With these words, one of the residents of Brajković, the village next door, welcomes us Kosjerić. It's Sunday morning and there are events taking place in that municipality local elections, the first since the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad on November 1 of last year and the beginning of a nationwide revolt that has not subsided for months. The approach to his house is colorful - the shiny, black asphalt ends in front of the neighbor's gate, and a dirt road overgrown with grass continues to it. A message for the unfit: asphalt is only for "ours".

For weeks, the atmosphere was heated in Kosjerić, where the ruling Serbian Progressive Party and the united local opposition with the support of students were competing. On the morning of June 8, columns of bikers scurry through the colorful streets. As the locals tell us, they are chasing the "damages" of Belgrade license plates, which magically started popping up all over the place that day. When it comes to plates, we see the least local delights; there is Belgrade, Novi Sad, Čačak, Kraljevo, Šabac, Loznica... Half of Serbia today is in Kosjerić, and the other half is probably in Zaječar, where local elections are also held.

This was supposed to be a classic reportage about election day in this town of several thousand inhabitants, located in a valley between the slopes of Maljen, Povlen, Kozomor and several other mountain peaks. However, at the end of a hot election day, my car was damaged, being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's why this time I'm going to break the old journalistic rule and become an actor in my own story.

FROM CELEBRATION TO DISTURBANCE

photo: t. stanić

The beginning of election day went more or less smoothly. I visited all the city and several rural polling stations when I received a call from a veteran - something is happening at the City Heating Plant. As it will turn out later, the incidents in this place during the afternoon and evening will mark the election day in Kosjerić.

The city heating plant is located in Olga Grbić Street, near the center of Kosjerić. In order to fully understand the next few hours, it should be noted that in this street there are: the municipal building, where the polling station and the election headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party are, and then the Kosjerić Police Station. There is an intersection near the Police Station, and then the street continues towards the City Heating Plant and ends in front of the gates of the private company "Aqualines".

The crowd that the veteran warns me about happened right in front of the gates of this private company. Locals claim that some kind of paramilitary forces are gathering inside, like those who have been staying in Pionirski Park for months. The gates are protected by a cordon of police. At some point, the police push the citizens to one side to clear the driveway. More men with a similar physiognomy arrive: tall, muscular, in black T-shirts and with caps on their heads. The citizens welcome them with a volley of curses and insults, but the young men pass without any problems and the gate closes behind them.

photo: t. stanić

A few hours pass. The sun, which has been heating up the already hot atmosphere all day, is slowly starting to set. The streets of Kosjerić are crowded: music is playing, Serbian flags are flying, and data on high turnout are greeted with applause and cheers. It seems that the opposition-oriented citizens are sure of victory and that they are just waiting for the closing of the polling stations so that the celebration can officially begin. "Kosjerićki ćaciland" in the zone of the company "Aqualines" is slowly being forgotten - the atmosphere is more relaxed, the police have almost withdrawn and it seems that there is no more danger. When the polling stations close, citizens gather in front of the United for Kosjerić election headquarters. I have unofficially learned that the opposition is leading in almost all polling stations and that they will soon declare victory.

Instead of declaring victory, however, the announcement arrives: "A ballot box has fallen in front of the municipality. Women and children should stay here, men - all in front of the municipality."

A few seconds later, dozens of people run towards Olga Grbić Street. Soon, the space in front of the municipality is full, tensions grow and until recently the festive atmosphere is replaced by whistles. Although the opposition soon declares victory in Kosjerić, there is no celebration. The news of the alleged falling of the ballot boxes caused anxiety.

Something is expected again - the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has announced his address at 22 p.m., and the City Election Commission has not yet announced the results, despite the fact that only a few thousand votes need to be counted. In the meantime, the Crta observation mission announced that the SNS still won in Kosjerić.

photo: nebojša jovanović / fonet

INFLAMMATION OF CONFLICT

Let's jump ahead again: after a long delay, Vučić from the premises of the Serbian Progressive Party in New Belgrade declares victory in Kosjerić. Citizens, in slightly smaller numbers, are still ahead of the municipality. It is guarded by the police, and a cordon stands in front of the entrance to the Police Station. The atmosphere has subsided and midnight is approaching. It seems that the long and hot election day is slowly coming to an end.

After 15 hours in the field, I'm already tired and I'm ready to finish my work day. I decide to check the situation in front of the gate of the "Aqualines" company one more time, for the last time that evening. As I'm already tired from the intense hike and the whole day baking in the June sun, I decide to move the car a little closer to the action, telling myself that I'm only stopping for ten minutes.

That's where I made my first mistake: I parked in Olga Grbić Street, between the intersection near the Police Station and the "Akvalajna" gate. I was careful not to get too close to the gate where the citizens are gathering again. The police cordon is still guarding the gate, and in the meantime reinforcements have arrived - in addition to the Intervention, a significant number of members of the Gendarmerie are now present. Nearby is an unusual ambulance with Belgrade plates. I had seen the same vehicle earlier in the day, and the man driving it certainly did not fit the description of the average ambulance driver: tall, burly, muscular, wearing a black T-shirt and sunglasses hiding his eyes. My original idea to stay there for a few minutes falls apart when I hear a guy shouting: "Call reinforcements, now they're going to open the gate and let them go." I only have a few seconds to decide if I'm going to stick to my plan to finish reporting at midnight or if I'm going to extend my fifteen-hour shift even further. Later, I thought about what would have happened if I had left the scene - considering the kind of newsroom I work in, I'm sure that no one would have blamed me for that. I knew, however, that my conscience would have eaten me up for a long time if I had left my workplace at that moment.

photo: t. stanić

POSITION DETECTION

So, I decide to stay. In the next few minutes, the Gendarmerie herd us all to one side of the carriageway, as they had done earlier that day to ensure that strangers could enter the gate. This time, the gendarmes did not allow the citizens to move, or even to retreat to the beginning of the street, which was accompanied by a stormy protest of those present.

I invoke my journalistic accreditation and manage to slip behind the cordon. It's exactly midnight when the gates open. Several dozen expensive cars with colorful license plates leave the premises of the company "Aqualines". Their windows are down; some in that group hide their faces, while others grimly observe the angry citizens. There are also women in some cars.

People are running towards the top of the street. The gendarmerie realized what was happening: having moved the people away from the gate, the citizens would block the street in another place to prevent the free passage of suspicious people whom the police protect all day. I run too, and on the way I pass by my car - a blue Škoda Octavia, dusty from a whole day's driving on Kosjerići macadams, nothing like the fleet of several hundred thousand euros standing just a few meters next to it. I am aware that my car is stuck, that it is blowing away, but at that moment I have something to do.

The verbal confrontation between the citizens and the gendarmes, who raised their shields, lasts for several minutes. The white helmets are also arriving, and it's clear to me from their huddle that they will soon try to break through the blockade. As luck seems to have deserted me when my car got blocked, my phone battery is dying. The external battery was left in the car in all this commotion, so I decide to go back and get it.

My colleague from N1, Miloš Zekić, is keeping me company. We go to the car together, passing by the line of vehicles. I try not to look at them, I unlock the car, take the battery, lock the car again and go back - in total, our "trip" to the car didn't last even a minute. However, already on the way back, I'm starting to feel uneasy: I discovered the location of my car. Did they see that we have journalistic credentials?

THE PREGNANCY CAME TRUE

For the next fifty minutes I nervously try to see if any of the suspicious men are hanging around my car, while at the same time watching the confrontation between the police and the citizens. A police car blocks my view, but in the darkness I can see silhouettes around the place where I parked my car.

Several things are happening at the same time: a colleague from N1 has a live feed, and a young man from the convoy - with a cap on his head and a scarf over his face - tries to chase him away when he turns his camera towards the blocked vehicles. When they see someone filming them, those who got out of their cars quickly get back inside. In the meantime, the head of the Police Department of Užice, Milovan Knežević, is talking on the phone near me. I hear him calling for reinforcements and telling someone that the blockade must be breached.

photo: tijana stanić

However, the situation soon calms down. The gathered people insist that they will not move, and the vehicles return to the company "Aqualines". When the cars have pulled away, I go to my car. Already from a few meters away, it is clear to me that my premonitions have come true: the rear-view mirrors on the car are broken, and the car is strangely tilted to one side. I check the tires: the right side is fine, but the front and rear left tires are completely blown.

SHRUGGING AND THE DAY AFTER

Even though I'm covered in a cold sweat, I'm not surprised - when I realized that I had left the car at the mercy of those people, I subconsciously resigned myself to my fate. The policeman to whom I tell what happened shakes his head in disappointment, saying: "Cattle. What to do." And nothing more.

Knowing that I can't do anything because the street is blocked, I decide to get my things from the car and go back to the accommodation. I don't want to linger because I fear that one of the perpetrators will return and this time find me in complete darkness. I can still see their headlights in the distance. I don't sleep that night thinking that someone will come back to finish the job and that in the morning I will find the car in a much worse condition.

The fear turned out to be unfounded. In the morning I find the car as I left it. In the daylight I can see that two of my tires have been punctured by something sharp, most likely a knife. Four punctures in the front, two in the rear tire. The mirrors are broken, but at least they are still standing.

I am reporting the case to the police. After the investigation, they unofficially tell me that the chances of finding the perpetrator are very small. While I'm giving my statement, one of the police officers is reviewing footage from a nearby camera. He says that at five minutes after midnight, a group of men approached my car, and the video shows one of them crouching down. So, everything happened as soon as my colleague and I got away from the car. The policeman says that the video is so blurry that nothing can be made out from it except that it is men.

The case was taken over by the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Užice. The police officer to whom I gave my statement says that it is a criminal act of "damaging someone else's property", for which a private lawsuit is filed. However, since the statement was passed on, the prosecutor decides to reclassify the criminal offense as "violent behavior at a sports event or public gathering". A more serious crime, but a small consolation - I am aware that the chance of someone being punished is zero.

Despite everything, I have mostly good impressions from Kosjerić - I'm pretty sure that no one from the local area did the damage to my car. When he hears what happened to me, the auto parts dealer doesn't want to charge me for the tire. The other spends all morning patching up my slashed tires, which are now in decent shape. "You can drive them until the end of the season," he says and barely accepts a few thousand dinars as a sign of gratitude.

Since I'm just at the beginning of my journalistic career, I haven't had any major unpleasant experiences so far. This was my first direct encounter with people who, out of boredom, boredom or for any other reason, will knowingly and intentionally cause harm to another person. What worries me the most is that the army of those dark men is the foot soldiers of this regime.