By gunshot sonic cannon, or "experimental acoustic weapon”, as the reporters officially say UN, the end of the first half was played and the beginning of the second half was marked in the battle that they initiated by students in November last year.
Student protests were lined up, and marches that preceded them generated enormous visibility of their activities. Prva Slavija, Autokomanda, Novi Sad, Kragujevac, Niš, Novi Pazar and countless larger local protests showed that the students had support, but the citizens also wanted some kind of better organization than mere donation and "bringing rolls to protests". In the time before March 15, the students came out modestly with the idea "what is a plenum for students, it is a assembly for the people" and for many who have been with the students for months with heart and soul, it was an opportunity to taste the charms of direct democracy that the students implement in their own way behind closed doors. A few days later, on March 20, FON came out with a kind of guide for organizing choirs. Choirs erupted like mushrooms after the rain, and in just two weeks in March, more than 100 congregations were convened throughout Serbia.
FIRST TESTS
The choir experienced its first serious test exactly one month later March 15, during RTS blockades, in two locations where, in addition to the famous building in Takovska, the studio in Kosutnjak is also blocked. Since this second location is not so well known - it is surrounded by forest on all sides, there are many entrances - a large number of people on the ground were needed to cover it all. The choirs responded to the call and while the students were still returning from the protest in Pazar, and stopped by Kraljevo on the way, the choirs held blockades. A particularly good example was the choir from Kragujevac, which organized duty in three shifts in Košutnjak, where people drove from Kragujevac and back every day, and when there were not enough of them to "overlap", the local (Belgrade) choirs guarded their checkpoint.
Some smaller events, blockades and fundraising actions additionally built the choirs' infrastructure. Thus, for example, the blockade of Ustanička street near the Dušanovac post office on May 25, which was called by the Braće Jerković community choir, led to the choirs being equipped with spacious pavilions and each choir having its own "stand" at some event.
The blockade of the intersection near the Government of Serbia called for by the Rebel University, which began on June 9, showed the level of organization of the congregations and the level to which the infrastructure had been raised. For example, the choirs from Voždovac at one point brought nine tents and confused the organizers. This very protest, which lasted more than two weeks, showed how important the choirs that participated in the blockade and that "maintained" the momentum of the protest, and contributed to the variety of events with their activities at the stands.
GREEN LIGHT
Student protest at Vidovdan he gave the citizens a "green light". This was a kind of response to all the objections to the students that they were not given a "free hand" on May 15 and that the citizens wanted more, but they did not want to endanger the student struggle by coming forward. Then the choirs, this time with students as citizens in their ranks, started actions of civil disobedience.
The choir from Zemun was the first to "pull its foot" by blocking the intersection in Main Street. In order not to focus all the force of repression only on Zemun, blockades broke out all over Belgrade, so that Zeleni venac, Bulevar kod Pravno, Gazela, Autokomanda and other locations were also blocked. The blockade of Autokomanda will be the reason for the incredible reaction of the police in the early hours of the morning, when four police vans rushed down Vojvode Stepe Street towards the demonstrators, and members of the police brigade jumped out of the van and beat the attendees.
The summer when we learned to rebel has begun for us. On the other side, "the summer when we started threshing again" began. Seven months later from the moment when the students told us that the smart organization was being organized, impressions were shared about the effect brought by the choirs. Some have quarreled, some work with greater or lesser results. Donations to students continued even in moments when some were forced out of blockades, and students are often in the front lines of protests or acts of civil disobedience, and reports of both misdemeanor and criminal charges are pouring in. If it is judged by the simple principle "if it annoys the president and does not come from his associates - it means that it is good", from the first moment when the assemblies were created, they became a thorn in the side of the president of all citizens, which means that they were effective. On the other hand, citizens who are disgusted with politics during the last decade have become politically aware and have taken an active role in the political processes that surround them. Critics will complain that the number is still questionable, but it is precisely that number, whatever it is, that has allowed the flame of the student rebellion not to be extinguished. The choirs never pretended to take over the primacy, but with their activities they contributed to fill the empty space and to keep the rebellion from dying down, which somehow always happened with protests in previous years.
ERRORS
There were also mistakes, one of the frequent ones was the rush of many to form choirs at higher levels, so we got municipal, city choirs, choirs in larger parts of the city, several blocks together and the like. The core and strength of the choirs would be even greater if each local community had formed its own choir, and if there had been association in coordination bodies at higher levels. It is much more difficult for collaborators of the regime to infiltrate these smallest congregations, where the neighbors know each other well. Another mistake is focus. Focus and lack of focus at the same time. Many wanted to clean up their neighborhood, some wanted to change the government, some wanted to collect donations for students, some wanted to protest in front of the municipal assembly, some wanted to control the elections. That interweaving of different initiatives seemed like a waste of time to people who were not used to the process of direct democracy. On the other hand, the focus of some choirs on only one segment has seriously limited the field of action for people who are not interested in that segment, and they themselves did not have enough strength and initiative to realize what they want through the choir.
ELECTIONS
Elections are inevitable. The only unknown is when it will be. It is certain that citizens organized through assemblies will go through the process of selection and preparation for the control of the election process. Until then, choirs should build their infrastructure, build community and expand their membership. Choirs at a higher level should strive to help the development of choirs in all their local communities, not to be satisfied with group membership at a higher level. On the other hand, citizens should be given the opportunity to take different actions. Again: supporting students through donations, supporting protests and organizing their own protests, solving local communal problems and cleaning up their own neighborhood, pressure on institutions in the form of letters and requests for information of public importance, records and training of all those interested in controlling the election process. In addition, it is necessary to organize other activities that would allow socializing and activation of the wider community, such as the choir in "Stepa" organized a soccer tournament and creative workshops for children, which allowed the number of people in the choir to grow and active members to get to know each other better.
There is a saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, and the second best time is now. It's the same with choirs - maybe the best time to join or form your own choir was seven months ago, and the second best time is now.
otpor
On February 17, 2000, a congress of the student movement "Resistance" was held in the Youth Center. This movement was looking for a way to involve citizens in a wider socio-political struggle. At the congress, the movement was renamed "Narodni pokret Otpor" and opened the door for citizens who wanted to participate in daily actions. Eight months later, Milosevic fell.
