Photo: Instagram/cuvarivatre"We say no to the war in Ukraine and demand freedom for Russia, and we are interested in how this threatens the security of Serbia," asked the president of the Russian Democratic Society, Pyotr Nikitin, at the protest today.
The Association of the Russian Democratic Society today organized a protest on Republic Square regarding the denial of a residence permit to activist Vladimir Volokhonsky due to "threats to national security".
About a hundred people gathered on the square holding banners asking how those who advocate for peace can threaten the security of Serbia. One of the speakers was Piotr Nikitin, who asked how the opposition to the war in Ukraine threatens the security of Serbia.
"We say no to the war in Ukraine and demand freedom for Russia, and we are interested in how this threatens the security of Serbia."
Nikitin pointed to the Constitution, which guarantees foreigners a stay in Serbia without discrimination and regardless of their political orientation.
According to him, Serbia has clearly distanced itself from the war events in Ukraine, so it is not clear why the Security Information Agency (BIA) is working to prove that Russians who are against the war are unwelcome in Serbia.
After the speech, Nikitin read a petition calling on President Aleksandar Vučić and Prime Minister Ana Brnabić to end the persecution of Russian citizens who advocate for peace and against the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the middle of July of this year, Russian anti-war activist Nikitin was refused entry to Serbia by the border police at Nikola Tesla airport, and the reason for the ban was given as "a protective measure of removal, a security measure of the expulsion of a foreigner, i.e. a ban on entry into Serbia".
After that, on July 25, another anti-war activist from Russia, Vladimir Volokhonski, was refused an extension of his temporary stay in Serbia, under the explanation that the BIA assessed that he represented a danger to the security of Serbia.
AE/FoNet
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Why is there nothing else between the overcome regime and the changes? What does the regime mean when it says it is defending Serbia? Why is the Student Movement indomitable? Who has the knowledge and real experience, and who leads without a day of work experience outside of politics? And why students win
After almost two years of protests, hundreds of kilometers walked, arrests, persecution and unprecedented social mobilization, Serbia is holding elections that could mark the end of a political era. Sociologist Marija Babović tells "Vreme" that the hope for change has not been so great since October 5, 2000, but she also warns of the danger that, if changes are not made, the country will face an even tougher authoritarian regime.
Their only weapon now is the media they control: like, we don't have an agenda, which is not true; as, we will betray the national interest, which is not true. One of their arguments is that we are afraid to go to the debate with Vučić. They do not understand that it is their punishment. This is a punishment for Aleksandar Vučić, who for 14 years conducted exclusively a monologue. For fourteen years he did not allow anyone any kind of dialogue, and now he would like to be rewarded or pardoned with the opportunity to talk to us. Well, he won't be able to. What he sowed is now reaping
These elections are not elections about Serbia's membership in the European Union, Kosovo and Metohija, gay marriage, tax policy or any other single political issue. Although parties on the fringes of political power try to impose these themes, at the heart of the upcoming political election is a much simpler dilemma: change or preserve the existing order. For more than a year now, surveys have shown that this is the primary dilemma on the ballot
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There is, literally, no difference between the one who claims it is day in the middle of the night, or the one who claims to be a giraffe, from the claims we read on billboards: that Vučić is working to unify Serbs and that Serbia is doing better and better day by day.
The pre-election arrests due to the alleged "overthrow of the state" testify to the regime's panic. The bad news for them is - they can't arrest the whole people who decided to defend themselves from progressive beatings and election theft
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