We are located in front of the administration of the Kosovska Mitrovica Clinical Hospital Center. "We just have to take a quick photo and then move on," says Srđan Đorđević. In his hands, he holds a banner with the inscription "Support for students and pupils from Kosovo and Metohija", on the back of which is written "Pumpaj". He adds: "I will not separate myself from the banner."
photo: milica srejić...
This man from Mitrovica is the first organizer of a fifteen-minute silence in Kosovska Mitrovica, to commemorate the victims of the fall of the canopy in Novi Sad.
"Since I was not able to go to the protest in Slavia, I sent a message on December 22 from the Zvečan Fortress. The message read: 'Support for students and pupils from Kosovo and Metohija,'" says Đorđević in an interview for "Vreme". "After that, on January 23, I decided to invite my fellow citizens to a rally in support of the students and schoolchildren who are protesting all over Serbia. To be honest, I thought I would show up there alone, because of the fear that people live in here. It was the period before the Kosovo elections, where everything was full of police, there were pressures from all sides. And the next day, when I showed up there, there were, according to some estimates, more than a hundred people. That's really surprising for Mitrovica."
Đorđević's employment contract, which expired on March 31, was not extended, although he was promised the opposite. That is why last week he organized two protests in front of the Administration of the Clinical Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica. Although they were reported to the Kosovo police, at the first protest they were asked by the Administration to move to the park and observe 16 minutes of silence there, as well as address the media. They failed to move them. Already at the second protest, an ambulance of the Clinical Center in Niš was parked in front of the Administration. However, even that did not prevent him from holding his protest in front of the Administration with only a few people supporting him. Two police patrols were on the ground and everything passed without incident.
SRĐAN ĐORDJEVIC: Regarding my job, legally they are right, because my contract expired on March 31st. That day, the lawyer of the Health Center called me and told me that I would not be coming to work from tomorrow. Immediately after that call, I went to the director Zlatan Elek (otherwise known as the president of the Serbian List). It was an inhuman act on his part, because when I started working, I was told that they were not interested in my activity around students, but only that I should not start a hunger strike. It was literally three or four days before the Kosovo elections. By the way, other parties from the Serbian community also participated in these Kosovo elections. They were afraid that with my hunger strike I would put people in a situation where they would vote for some other candidates, not those from the Serbian List. They definitely took me in for that very reason.
WEATHER: Why did you want to start a hunger strike??
To go back to work, because I don't have a job, and therefore I don't have any income. There are still many people like me, those who have no income. While all of them (from the Serbian list) have astronomical incomes, they could live wherever they want. In addition to all the incomes they have in the system of the Republic of Serbia, they will have an additional one, of 1800 euros, as deputies in the Kosovo Assembly. And in addition, they also have private surgeries. Social inequality hurts the most people here. Especially those who are vulnerable and live here like me. I have nothing anywhere in Serbia.
What happened after the contract expired?
During that conversation, I asked if they wanted to help me and if there was a solution for me, and I was told to go to Kopaonik and solve the problem there. My answer was that because of my principles I could not do that at all. That's how I ended the conversation and told them that I was going to protest in front of the Administration. They said - do whatever you want.
At the same time, protests are taking place in central Kosovo due to suspicions of irregularities and political pressure in the recruitment process in healthcare institutions. How do you see it??
You know how, this is a time of paradox. Those people protesting mostly support Vučić, but their problem is existence, because they have no income. Now they are a bit over the top. On the one hand, they support Vučić, and on the other, they complain about him.
When I came to Mitrovica, I also met a group of pedestrians who went to a three-day rally in Belgrade that day to support the president of Serbia.
As for the departure of those people to Belgrade, it's out of mind. They went to support those who betrayed them. Of course, I can't help but say that there are also a lot of pressures. In principle, fear is decisive for all those actions that the regime in Serbia, including the Srpska Lista here in Kosovo, undertakes.
According to the media, at least 18 buses left for the rally in Belgrade on Saturday.
I think that 10 percent of people go there out of conviction and conviction. They mostly follow pro-regime tabloid media, which promote violence, debauchery and fornication. Through such media, the government entered our families and introduced strife, intolerance and deep division. And to the extent that you trust the media more than your own eyes and the real situation on the ground. It is also very important to remind the public, and regarding the people who went to the rally in support of the regime in Belgrade, what happened on May 26, 2023. Then the people from here were forced to go and support Vučić. At that same moment, four municipalities in the north of Kosovo were occupied, and then the mass emigration of Serbs from Kosovo and Kosovo began.
What kind of pressures are you all facing here at the bar?
After the first fifteen minutes of silence, the comments were extremely positive, with the fact that here people are not allowed to talk about it publicly, but like this in cafes. Many supported me, but also admitted that they were not allowed to come. There are different pressures on employees - if they have a fixed-term contract, they are threatened with dismissal, and if they have an indefinite contract, with transfers and the like. If they have children, they are told that their children will suffer the consequences. And when you hit someone's livelihood, that's the worst kind of fear - you'll be without income, you won't be able to survive. And, this happens all the time.
You mentioned the mass emigration of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija. What is the current situation??
When you walk around the city itself, you see that it is much less crowded than before. Previously, Mitrovica was always bustling with people, especially young people. There were always a lot of students, perhaps more from the territory of central Serbia than here from the area of Kosovo and Metohija. Now that has totally changed, mostly people who are from the enclaves here or from Mitrovica and from the north are studying. That is very sad.
Are you still living here??
Of course. I'm not leaving here at the cost of my life. I also have a great love for Kosovo and Metohija, for the Zvečan Fortress because I am there every day. We will see if those in power here will come to their senses. Specifically - director Elek, and will he call me to solve my serious problem. So far I have not received a call.
As a resident of Kosovska Mitrovica, you ask questions, to which you have no answer?
I would like to ask Aleksandar Vučić whether any of the officials of the Serbian List have been arrested for corruption, embezzlement, abuse of official positions and various other criminal acts? I would also give reasons why we from Kosovo and Metohija would have to support students, and those reasons relate to the judiciary, the police, license plates, passports, Gazivode, area code, post office, banks... That is only a tenth of what this regime has given without getting anything. Not even the Association of Serbian Municipalities, which they congratulated us on.
This makes life difficult for everyone, especially pensioners. But again another paradox. Pensioners are the ones who are ready to give their lives for Aleksandar Vučić. And if you ask them: "Where are you going to retire now?", they say it doesn't matter. It is only important for them that those from the opposition do not come. Here, pensioners are convinced that if Vučić "falls", they will lose their pension.
On Saturday, you were also at a protest in Novi Pazar...
I was also in Novi Sad. There I carried the banner "Support for students and pupils from Kosovo and Metohija", and wherever I went, students greeted me.
What would you say to students??
I would invite all the students in the blockade, our successful athletes, actors, musicians and other artists, professors and all good people to come to our place in Kosovska Mitrovica for at least one day and support us with their presence, so that this people can see that we are not forgotten.
