Protests in several cities in Serbia over attacks on university professors

AUTHOR:M.J. GDNUS

Protest walks under the slogan "Let's defend the academic community" are being held simultaneously in Niš, Belgrade, Kragujevac and Novi Sad.

The protest was called by professors from the blocked faculties with the aim of showing that "the academic community stands together and without fear in defending knowledge, people and the future", according to the call published on social networks.

The reason for the protests is the attack on the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš Natalija Jovanović, but also threats to the rector of the University of Belgrade Vladan Đokić and the deans of other faculties who supported the demands of the blocked students.

Dean Natalija Jovanović was attacked with a knife on March 30, in which she sustained an injury to her right hand. The attack occurred on the eve of the protest, while citizens were gathering in one of the squares in Niš.

The police arrested a 69-year-old woman suspected of the attack on the same day. The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that she was detained for up to 48 hours and that she would be brought before a higher public prosecutor with a criminal complaint.

The administration of the Faculty of Philosophy in Niš said that the attack on the dean was an attack on the entire academic community.

The attack on Dean Jovanović was also condemned by students in the blockade of several faculties, assessing that it was an "escalation of continuous regime propaganda".

The attack was also condemned by the extended rector's board of the University of Belgrade, the Academic Network of the Slobodan University, as well as nine deans of the University of Novi Sad.

Members of the Council of the University of Belgrade, the body that governs that higher education institution, condemned the public office holders who are demanding the arrest of the University's rector, Vladan Đokić, assessing that this is putting inappropriate and unacceptable pressure on the academic community.

In a statement, they assessed that the "slander, insinuations, insults and threats" directed at Rector Vladan Đokić and the deans of higher education institutions represent an attack on the University of Belgrade and the scientific community as a whole.

In statements by certain government officials and tabloid articles, Rector Đokić has been accused, without evidence, of being, among other things, an "organizer of blockades" and an "agent of foreign services".

What do the authorities say?

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated on March 31 that the ruling Serbian Progressive Party condemned the attack on the dean in Niš, but also repeated the accusations that she is surrounded by a "clan steeped in crime".

He added that she suffered a superficial injury "like when you cut a cucumber or an onion".

On March 31, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament and SNS official Ana Brnabić condemned a statement by the extended Rector's Collegium of the University of Belgrade, which stated that the attack on the dean was the result of slander, threats and pressure from high-ranking public officials and tabloid media.

Dean Jovanović has been the target of attacks and threats before, ever since she supported student protests and faculty blockades.

She was among the first faculty leaders in Serbia to support their demands, and her Faculty of Philosophy was the first in Niš to open its doors to students on the blockade.

Students have been blocking dozens of state faculties at five universities in Serbia since late November.

They are demanding the establishment of political and criminal responsibility for the collapse of the concrete canopy of the Novi Sad Railway Station on November 1, when 16 people died.

They are also demanding that the attackers of the students at the protests that followed the tragedy be punished and that the proceedings against the arrested demonstrators be suspended.

The government claims that all of the students' demands have been met, calling on them to open their faculties, while academics say that the demands have not been met and that they are continuing to block the faculties.