
The situation in Serbia has reached the boiling point, after three months of student protests demanding justice for the fifteen victims of the collapsed roof at the railway station in the city of Novi Sad (Protests across Serbia following train station disaster |). The Vučić regime is seriously shaken. The prime minister has resigned, no doubt pushed by the president Vučić, after a few previous scapegoat resignations or mock arrests of those “responsible” for the tragedy. But Vučić himself, the autocrat who has ruled for over a decade, is still standing.
The collapsed roof last November was the last straw after years of profiteering by the mafia-like government. Student protests exploded soon after, blockading universities and colleges throughout the country. Teachers came out in support, in most cases not backed by the unions. Farmers, who have their own grievances about policies that ruin domestic food production, or the land grabbing attempts by the mining company Rio Tinto, supported students from the start. They have organised protests in their towns and villages and visited students on the campuses, bringing farm produce and cooking them dinners.
Students have been calling on workers to join them in strikes, and a few independent unions have answered. There have been numerous short stoppages which culminated on 24th January in a so-called general strike (more like a “national strike” as most unions didn’t participate officially). Huge masses of workers and students came out on the streets. Teachers whose unions didn’t support the strike formed “forums” where they decided to walk out. Some postal workers and miners also walked out. There have been discussions among some union leaders and others on how to organise a proper general strike.
In Serbia every “culmination” of events is soon followed by another, bigger one. One week later, hundreds of students from Belgrade marched 80km to Novi Sad, with the aim to occupy the three bridges on the river Danube, marking the three months of the collapse of the railway station roof. They walked for two days and were received in towns and villages on the way with abundance of food and drink and such jubilation that it was compared to the greetings liberation armies received at the end of both world wars. The welcome in Novi Sad was spectacular with huge masses of people gathered. Farmers accompanied the students on tractors, along with long lines of bikers and cyclists.
The mood in the country has been transformed. Following the collapse of Yugoslavia and three decades that saw wars, sanctions, NATO bombing and ultra-nationalist governments topped by the Vučić mafia regime, people of Serbia had been demoralised, impoverished, scared and cynical about any possibility of a change. In just three months, the student movement has fundamentally changed that. This is an incredible achievement, thanks to their determination and ingenuity, and importantly because people recognise the student self-organisation and inability of the distrusted official opposition to influence them in any way.
Vučić has unsuccessfully tried every trick to corrupt the movement but so far, apart from using violence, he has no answer. His thugs have driven cars into protesters, beaten them up, but every new injured student pours more petrol onto the fire. He tried to buy them off with a promise of slashing university fees by 50% (one of the student demands is increase in state university funding by 20%), but it was seen as a win b y students and only strengthened the determination.
Vučić managed to buy off some corrupt teacher union leaders who agreed to a moratorium on strikes in exchange for a measly pay rise. There are reports of mass exodus of members from such unions and joining of independent unions. The agreement was signed after the prime minister’s resignation, which effectively meant the collapse of the government. So who did the unions sign the agreement with? In Serbia everybody knows who pulls all the strings. In a similar move to teachers, miners who for years have been angry at the corruption of their union have decided to form a new union.
The silence from the EU, always eager to back “democracy” protests when it’s in their imperialist interests, has been eye-opening. The EU in fact condemned “the violent occupation of institutions”, obviously directed at the student blockades of universities, even though there hasn’t been any violence. The truth is that the EU wants Vučić in place because he has promised them Serbian lithium reserves and a change of government would risk that. The EU capitalism is keen to take the lead in the race with China on electric car manufacturing and lithium is crucial in it. The battle against the mine is far from over. Rio Tinto is at this moment lobbying the EU to officially put its weight behind the project. With such mobilisation of people in Serbia that already exists against the mine and the government, Rio Tinto, the EU and Vučić, know very well that the mine would not be able to proceed without the use of heavy violence. But under capitalism profits override human rights and it is not inconceivable that they might resort to that.
The US is also silent and one of the reasons is that Vučić has given Trump’s son-in-law a prime location in Belgrade – ironically, a former Yugoslav army headquarters, damaged by the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999 – to build a “Trump hotel”. All this illustrates that corruption is at the heart of the profit-driven system of capitalism; Vučić, and Trump, are just blatant manifestations of it. Russia has also urged “stability” in Serbia as they also have investments. Vučić has managed to unite all opposing capitalist powers in support of him, as a tool to strengthen his grip on power.
The student movement, on the other hand, has started to re-unite ordinary people from the region. Students from Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro often organise gatherings in solidarity. In Croatia, they have been condemned by the authorities, afraid that student protests can turn to the corrupt domestic politics. The EU powers must be afraid of the same. Solidarity protests have been organised in many European and other cities by the Serbian diaspora.
Sooner or later the Vučić regime will fall, but what next? The opposition, which had been in power before Vučić, is not seen as an alternative by the masses. The Left is very small and fragmented, and some of them don’t even support the student movement because “it lacks a class character“, thus abandoning the very task of the Left to offer guidance in this period of very low class consciousness. Others on the Left do recognise the fundamentally progressive character of the protests, especially the student assemblies as self-governing bodies that, together with the teachers’ forums, offer a glimpse to how a democratic workers’ state could function. Some liberal groups are proposing a transitional “government of experts” but this rests on the illusion that a state can be neutral between the interests of the big capital and the working class and all ordinary people. This reveals a further confusion; that it’s possible to talk about a “democratic, free society” without talking about the fundamental difference between the two systems, of capitalism and democratic socialism.
Most people in Serbia are aware that the reason things went wrong after the fall of Milošević in 2000 was because equally corrupt forces usurped the power. Masses of students and workers protested then, just like know. One big difference was that the Western powers wanted Milošević gone, partly because he didn’t open the country enough to foreign capital (privatisations benefitted domestic tycoons).
Situacija u Srbiji je dostigla tačku ključanja, posle tromesečnih studentskih protesta koji zahtevaju pravdu za petnaestoro žrtava urušene nadstrešnice na železničkoj stanici u Novom Sadu. Vučićev režim je ozbiljno uzdrman. Premijer je podneo ostavku, bez sumnje žrtvovan od strane predsednika Vučića, posle nekoliko prethodnih sličnih ostavki ili lažnih hapšenja „odgovornih” za tragediju. Ali sam Vučić, autokrata koji vlada više od decenije, i dalje stoji.
Nadstrešnica koja se srušila prošlog novembra bila je poslednja kap koja je prelila čašu nakon godina profiterstva mafijaške vlade. Studentski protesti su eksplodirali ubrzo nakon toga, blokirajući univerzitete i škole širom zemlje. Nastavnici su dali podršku, u većini slučajeva bez podrške sindikata. Poljoprivrednici, koji imaju svoje pritužbe na politiku koja uništava domaću poljoprivredu ili pokušaje otimanja zemlje od strane rudarske kompanije Rio Tinto, podržavaju studente od početka. Organizovali su proteste u svojim gradovima i selima, posećivali su studente u kampusima, donoseći im svoje poljoprivredne proizvode i pripremajući obroke za njih.
Studenti od početka pozivaju radnike da im se pridruže u štrajku i nekoliko nezavisnih sindikata se odazvalo. Bilo je brojnih kratkih obustava rada koji su kulminirali 24. januara u takozvanom generalnom štrajku (više kao „nacionalni štrajk“ jer većina sindikata nije zvanično učestvovala). Ogromne mase radnika i studenata izašle su na ulice. Nastavnici čiji sindikati nisu podržali štrajk formirali su „forume“ na kojima su odlučili da obustave rad. Izašli su i neki poštanski radnici i rudari. Bilo je diskusija među nekim sindikalnim liderima i drugima o tome kako organizovati pravi generalni štrajk.
U Srbiji ovih dana svaku „kulminaciju“ događaja ubrzo prati druga, još veća. Nedelju dana kasnije, stotine studenata iz Beograda marširali su 80 kilometara do Novog Sada, sa ciljem da blokiraju tri mosta na Dunavu, obeležavajući tri meseca od urušavanja nadstrešnice na železničkoj stanici. Pešačili su dva dana i na putu su dočekivani po gradovima i selima sa obiljem hrane i pića i takvim slavljem da se to uporedilo sa dočekom oslobodilačke vojske na kraju oba svetska rata. Doček u Novom Sadu je bio spektakularan uz ogromnu masu okupljenih ljudi. Poljoprivrednici su pratili studente na traktorima, uz duge kolone bajkera i biciklista.
Raspoloženje u zemlji se preokrenulo. Nakon raspada Jugoslavije i tri decenije koje su videle ratove, sankcije, NATO bombardovanje i ultranacionalističke vlade „krunisane” Vučićevim mafijaškim režimom, građani Srbije su bili demoralisani, osiromašeni, uplašeni i cinični u pogledu svake mogućnosti promene. Za samo tri meseca studentski pokret je to iz temelja promenio. Ovo je ogromno dostignuće, zahvaljujući njihovoj odlučnosti i domišljatosti, a važno je i to što ljudi prepoznaju studentsku samoorganizovanost i nesposobnost zvanične opozicije da na bilo koji način utiče na njih.
Vučić je bezuspešno pokušavao sve trikove da korumpira pokret, ali za sada, osim upotrebe nasilja, nema odgovora. Njegovi batinaši automobilima naleću na demonstrante, tuku ih, ali svaki novi povređeni student sipa još benzina na vatru. Pokušao je da ih otkupi obećanjem da će smanjiti školarine za 50% (jedan od studentskih zahteva je povećanje finansiranja državnih univerziteta za 20%), ali je to od strane studenata viđeno kao pobeda i samo je ojačalo odlučnost.
Vučić je uspeo da otkupi korumpirane vođe reprezentativnih sindikata prosvetnih radnika koji su pristali na moratorijum na štrajkove u zamenu za mizerno povećanje plata. Postoje izveštaji o masovnom napuštanju članova iz takvih sindikata i pristupanju nezavisnim sindikatima. Sporazum je potpisan nakon premijerove ostavke, što je faktički značilo kolaps vlade. S kim su onda sindikati potpisali sporazum? U Srbiji naravno svi znaju ko vuče konce. Slično potezu nastavnika, rudari koji su godinama bili ogorčeni na korupciju svog sindikata odlučili su da osnuju novi sindikat.
EU ćutanje
EU mudro ćuti iako je uvek željna da podrži „demokratske“ proteste kada je to u njenim imperijalističkim interesima. EU je ustvari osudila „nasilnu okupaciju institucija“, što je očigledno usmereno na studentske blokade univerziteta, iako nasilja nije bilo. Istina je da EU želi Vučića na vlasti jer im je obećao srpske rezerve litijuma, a promena vlasti bi to rizikovala. Kapitalistička EU nastoji da preuzme vođstvo u trci sa Kinom u proizvodnji električnih automobila i litijum je ključan u tome. Bitka protiv rudnika u Srbiji nije završena. Rio Tinto u ovom trenutku lobira EU da zvanično podrži projekat Jadar. Sa ovakvom mobilizacijom ljudi u Srbiji koja već postoji protiv rudnika i vlade, Rio Tinto, EU i Vučić dobro znaju da rudnik ne bi mogao da se ostvari bez upotrebe teškog nasilja. Ali u kapitalizmu profit ima prednost nad ljudskim pravima i nije nezamislivo da bi oni mogli da pribegnu tome.
SAD takođe ćuti, a jedan od razloga je to što je Vučić dao Trampovom zetu odličnu lokaciju u Beogradu – da ironija bude veća, bivšu zgradu Generalštaba, oštećenu NATO bombardovanjem Srbije 1999. godine – za izgradnju „Tramp hotela“. Sve ovo ilustruje da je korupcija u srži kapitalizma, kao sistema zasnovanog na profitu; Vučić i Tramp su samo otvorene, bahate manifestacije istog. Rusija je takođe pozvala na „stabilnost“ u Srbiji jer i oni brinu za svoje investicije. Vučić je uspeo da ujedini sve suprotstavljene kapitalističke sile u podršci sebi, što mu služi kao oruđe da ojača svoju vlast.
Studentski pokret je sa druge strane počeo da ponovo ujedinjuje obične ljude iz regiona. Studenti iz Hrvatske, Bosne i Crne Gore često organizuju skupove solidarnosti. U Hrvatskoj su ih vlasti osudile, plašeći se da se studentski tamo mogu okrenuti korumpiranoj unutrašnjoj politici. Toga se sigurno plaše i u EU. U mnogim evropskim i drugim gradovima srpska dijaspora organizuje proteste solidarnosti.
Vučićev režim će kad tad pasti, ali šta dalje? Opoziciju, koja je bila na vlasti pre Vučića, većina ne vidi kao alternativu. Levica je veoma mala i rascepkana, a neki od njih čak i ne podržavaju studentski pokret jer „nema klasnog karaktera“, tako odbacujući primarni zadatak levice da pruži smernice u ovom periodu veoma niske klasne svesti. Drugi na levici prepoznaju suštinski progresivan karakter protesta, posebno studentske plenume kao samoupravna tela koja, zajedno sa nastavničkim forumima, nude uvid u to kako bi demokratska radnička država mogla da funkcioniše. Neke liberalne grupe predlažu prelaznu „vladu stručnjaka“, ali to počiva na iluziji da država može da bude neutralna između interesa krupnog kapitala i radničke klase i svih običnih ljudi. Ovo otkriva dalju konfuziju, da je moguće govoriti o „demokratskom, slobodnom društvu“ a da se uopšte ne razmatra fundamentalna razlika između dva sistema, kapitalizma gde vlada krupni kapital i demokratskog socijalizma, društva zasnovanog na potrebama običnog naroda.
Većina ljudi u Srbiji je svesna da je razlog zbog kojeg su stvari krenule naopako nakon pada Miloševića 2000. bio taj što su podjednako korumpirane snage uzurpirale vlast. Mase studenata i radnika protestovale su tada, kao i sada. Jedna velika razlika bila je u tome što su zapadne sile imale u interesu da Milošević padne, delom zato što nije dovoljno otvorio zemlju stranom kapitalu (privatizacije su koristile domaćim tajkunima).
Nedostatak političkog programa u masama bio je evidentan i tada, kao i sada. Zadatak izrade političkog programa koji bi čvrsto zastupao interese radnika, studenata, poljoprivrednika i svih ljudi je pod hitno potreban.