1. The protests became bigger after the authorities, through mainstream media, described them as a bunch of people on the streets of Belgrade.
Three Saturdays in a row Belgrade has been flooded by thousands of people marching with a message: Stop the violence! Starting from Academic Square, the iconic seat of all civic protests in the past, and winding through the centre of the city, people on the protest walk are trying to send a message to the government and especially to the leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party and president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic. After the first walk, Vucic sought to play down the number of people on the streets and defend a young reporter from the pro-government TV Studio B.
He declared he would never bow to the demands of protesters even if they numbered five million.
2. It is important to trend on social media.
Events went viral after the first protest, Vucic’s comments and Studio B’s fake report (fake because the young reporter said that there were no people and that those who were there called for the “lynch of political opponents, they call for raping and violence”).
Putting aside hate speech on the social media towards Vucic and the Studio B reporter, more people heard about the protest via Facebook and Twitter. Even more, when local DJ and music producer Sevdah Babe made a disco song using the words of the media report. It had hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and became a hit in Belgrade’s night clubs.
That was the turning point for the protest because, contrary to the first day when the average protester was in their late forties, the second protest during a heavy snow storm attracted youngsters, people in their twenties, who marched through the city with the song “Lynch, Rape, Violence” ringing in the ears.
3. People will come but you must have smart goals.
The last protest was the biggest so far in terms of numbers. It looked like those of winter 1996/97 with a long column of people armed with vuvuzelas, whistles and drums. Enormous noise and energy was unleashed on the streets of Belgrade, decorated for since September. It looked as if “everybody” was there, like it was the most important place for those concerned about life and the future in Serbia.
If you’re absent, you are not aware of the bad things the authorities are doing in last couple of years. The organisers say their demands are focused on the problem of violence in Serbia, political violence and any other, and the Serbian public broadcaster’s silence on the protests.
When one says ‘Stop the violence’ everybody can support that, but when you say ‘I want to be on TV because we have right to present our views’, it becomes complicated. So, we are still waiting for clear and focused political requests towards the government.
4. It is not enough to say we are here just to say we are not afraid.
Over last four years, people, especially in Belgrade, were unaware of the system developed by Vucic and his party. Enjoying the support of Western countries because he presented himself as a reliable partner, Vucic installed an authoritarian way of governing, destroying the power of other institutions.
Serbia today looks like Yugoslavia under communism: good relations all around the world, a good life for party members and the oppression of political opponents. Media that do not toe the government line say Serbia became a land of fear, a state without order: Serbia is not a state based on the rule of law, Serbia is a state based on the law of the strongest man. That is the reason why those involved in the protest are satisfied so far because it looks like they are liberating the city step by step, but it is not true.
The ruling party and Vucic have the biggest support of the electorate and work as a political bulldozer. If the organisers or leaders of the opposition do not formulate requests of the authorities, the protest will die in the next couple of weeks.
5. Someone has to be the face and the voice.
The authorities, through a permanent campaign on mainstream media, want to present this as the work of those who were in power until 2012, when the Progressives replaced them. They say the numbers are small, but that the government will try to show understanding.
On the other hand, the authorities will not step back when it comes to those who want to use protests in order to improve their own political ratings.
The opposition and the government are trying to use the awakened energy, but very carefully: Vucic is a fast learner – he will never say he does not respect the requests of the millions, and the opposition leaders are teetering because they have to step up and lead the masses.
When it comes to that point we see the weaknesses of the opposition front, which skipped the chance last winter during the campaign for elections in Belgrade.
They were not able to form a strong coalition against Vucic, they did not have enough resources to collect more votes in Belgrade, a city that was always was pro-democratic and against radicals in politics. So, now is the crucial moment: can this energy be harnessed by a new political force and real political leaders? Without that, the future is uncertain.
Slobodan Georgiev is BIRN Serbia editor, journalist and programme coordinator.
