The scholars who impressed a nation

For these not too aware of the interior affairs of Serbia, let me introduce two key gamers from immediately’s dialog:

Aleksandar Vučić is a recurring character right here. He has been in energy in Serbia since 2012 in various capacities, first as prime minister, later as president, and appears to have concentrated energy very successfully. Vučić shouldn’t be solely a current-day autocrat, however an awesome survivor of a earlier autocracy: his first main political appointment was as minister of data in 1998, beneath the Milosevic regime because it waged its genocidal warfare towards its neighbors, identified colloquially because the Yugoslav wars.

Vučić’s present reign has courted controversy from the get-go, and has been a topic of protests virtually all alongside. The violent repression of free speech and political actions will not be removed from this authorities, and poll fraud has been effectively documented within the nation’s earlier elections.

Now, crucially, Serbia shouldn’t be a member of the European Union however has been a candidate for membership since 2012, a course of that doesn’t appear to be going anyplace not too long ago, however apparently, additionally hasn’t deteriorated, regardless of the clear democratic erosion. Serbia’s sizable lithium deposits might play a job on this course of.

However Serbia additionally has a powerful current historical past of protest: famously the Otpor! motion, actually which means ’Resistance’. This motion fashioned similtaneously Aleksandar Vučić served as minister of data and step by step, incrementally organized political resistance towards an much more violent regime in wartime. In the present day we talk about the legacy of Otpor! and the current protest actions in Serbia immediately.

Our friends of immediately are:

Branka Ćurčić is a longtime cultural activist and co-founder of the Group for Conceptual Politics in Novi Unhappy. She edits the activist platform TENANT and has led quite a few publishing and translation initiatives in essential concept and modern artwork.

Pupil protester Višnja Vukajlović is a third-year scholar of Scene Structure, Know-how, and Design on the College of Technical Sciences in Novi Unhappy. She is presently one of many college students taking part within the blockade and strives to remain grounded and keep a transparent perspective all through all of it.

Aleksandar Reljić, a journalist and filmmaker born in Belgrade in 1974, works within the Documentary Division at Radio-Tv of Vojvodina. Over his 20-year profession, he has centered on documentaries about xenophobia, nationalism, warfare crimes, and inter-ethnic relations within the former Yugoslavia.

Dejan Tomka is an audio producer, activist, and media creator primarily based in Belgrade, actively taking part within the ongoing student-led protests throughout Serbia—each on the streets and thru her on-line presence. He makes use of social media and sound to amplify voices calling for fact, justice, and democratic change

Thanks to the Foto Storm Media Podcast Studio for internet hosting us!

Customary Time speak present S2E19: The world past establishments