LIBERAL-NATIONALIST PROTESTS HAVE ANTI-POPULAR CHARACTER
The New Communist Party of Yugoslavia (NKPJ) doesn’t support the liberal-nationalist protests which are taking place in Serbia, because it sees them as anti-popular and their goal is to bring the working class and the people of Serbia in even worse position. It is now clear that the protest leaders reproach the authorities for not being, in their view, sufficiently aligned with the EU and Western imperialism, as well as for the fact that Serbia does not have even more capitalism, exploitation of the people, and selling off of natural resources.
The NKPJ emphasizes that, although the protest participants are focused on an anti-VuÄŤić platform and avoid giving clear answers about the direction the country should take if they come to power, their activities clearly indicate that, upon their arrival to power, sanctions would be imposed on Russia, projects with the People’s Republic of China would be terminated, and cooperation with socialist Cuba—as well as with progressive governments around the world that resist Western imperialism—would be discontinued.
After the Niš (liberal) edict, the protests in Serbia took a clear liberal ideological line, aimed at making Serbia even more servile toward the EU and Western imperialism. The demands have shifted, with the primary one becoming the call for snap elections. Prior to that, the opposition and the so-called “students” had spent months repeating neoliberal mantras—insisting on the formation of an expert-led government, the fight against corruption, and the functioning of institutions—while opposing elections altogether. The protest organizers initially claimed that these were not political protests (whatever that might mean) and that anyone participating in VuÄŤić’s elections was a regime collaborator, because the conditions for fair elections did not exist. However, they soon abandoned this mantra, which is now no longer mentioned, and have since focused solely on elections.
Then the so-called “students” traveled to Strasbourg and Brussels, asking the EU to put pressure on Serbia—thus revealing their support for Serbia’s accession to the so-called “prison of nations”, the EU, where the rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. It is hypocritical that these so-called “students” demand that the EU, as well as the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, condemn police violence in Serbia, given that the EU itself — and countries like France — are well known for their violence against their own workers and citizens during strikes and anti-imperialist protests. They have demanded that Serbia relinquish even the last traces of its sovereignty by calling for foreign courts and institutions to investigate domestic issues. The demonstrators claim they will not allow Serbia to become like Belarus or North Korea — making it clear that these protests bear a political and anti-communist stamp.
Before the June 28th rally, the authorities were given an ultimatum: to dismantle “Ćacilend” (the circus in front of the National Assembly where the so-called “students who want to study” reside) and call elections by 21:00 that day. This protest was preceded by local elections in Kosjerić and Zaječar, where the opposition—together with pro-Western forces and the so-called students—called for unity. At the June 28th protest, the postmodernist circus was rounded out with nationalist folklore, which was an addition to the liberal ideology of the protest and the anarchist method of plenums (and public assemblies). The protest was held on Vidovdan, a holiday with mythological significance for the Serbian people. In doing so, the organizers sought to mask the liberal and pro-EU agenda of the protests. Speakers invoked the chauvinist Nikolaj Velimirović (a pro-nazi Serbian Orthodox bishop before, during and after the WWII), while the ultranationalist professor Milo Lompar was inaugurated as one of the leaders of the “student” electoral list. In that spirit, the singing of the national anthem “Bože pravde” began to dominate the protests, along with Serbian and nationalist flags.
After President VuÄŤić refused to meet the demonstrators’ demands, violence escalated on the streets. Some protest participants were arrested, and the protests evolved into road blockades across Serbia (also called “container revolutions”), bringing the country into a state resembling emergency. The blockades paralyzed public transportation and made it difficult for citizens to move around, especially workers who were prevented from reaching their workplaces.
Also, the example of the blockades in Zemun shows that those who lead these protests do not care about the ordinary citizens. By enforcing the blockades, they directly prevent residents of Zemun from going to the community health center, and as a result of this blockade, a large number of people in Zemun cannot reach the Zemun hospital. It is evident that only a small number of citizens participate in these blockades—mainly those from non-productive sectors, such as university and high school students or pensioners. Many of them come from the privileged strata of society, or someone else takes care of them. The organizers called the workers to launch a general strike and appealed to the trade unions, but the unions refused the call. This is logical because the abstract liberal demands have no connection to the working class, so it is natural that the working class does not support the so-called student protests, whose ultimate goal is an even worse position for the working class.
After the initial protests, that took place following the tragedy in Novi Sad, the protests took on a new form. Pro-Western forces realized they lacked popular support, so they organized so-called “student” protests and faculty blockades. Although professors with pro-Western views—including the administration of the University of Belgrade—coordinated these protests, the protests were presented as “spontaneous student” demonstrations. However, some of those professors who opposed previous blockades when students protested against the commercialization of education, now support the current ones.
At the beginning, the protest organizers created a plenum as a simulation of a spontaneous student uprising, defining three main demands, and some students even managed to add a fourth demand—the request to increase the university budget by 20%. However, shortly after, the university students of Novi Sad rejected this demand, and professors pressured the plenums at the University of Belgrade to also abandon it (just three days before the assembly was scheduled to vote on this demand). Instead, they focused on the neoliberal mantra of “experts” and the fight against corruption. Although it is clear that corruption is inherent to the capitalist system, the “sacred cow” demand to fight corruption remained unquestioned.
Thanks to the propaganda of the pro-Western media and organizations, students were granted the status of unquestionable authority, while real issues—such as capitalist exploitation—were marginalized. The protest organizers’ propaganda created a primitive, tribal division between “pumpadžija” (the people who support the protests) and “ćaci”(the people who support the government), based on repeating abstract, completely irrational phrases that exclude any rational discussion. An illusion was created that anyone could define the demands, even though the demands that were written and changed by “someone” are unquestionable. Any discussion challenging the fundamental premises of the protests was immediately dismissed, and anyone who did not support the neoliberal mantra of the protests was labeled as “ćaci” or an agent of Vučić. Although primitive, this propaganda, which is based on tribal division, has been very effective. It led to mass hysteria and the creation of an irrational “pumpadžija” identity, through which the protest participants are manipulated.
These protests are financed by domestic tycoons such as Filip Cepter and Rodoljub Drašković, and the bank accounts for donations were opened immediately. Donations coming from the US were portrayed as, for example, initiatives by an IT specialist who donated 2 million dinars, along with many other similar cases. Additionally, after the canopy collapse, the transport companies which decided to transport students for free were founded. All of this is a scenario that few can believe to be true. In this sense, we see that the logistics of the protests are controlled by the “(in)visible” hand of the market.
Interestingly, these protests managed to marginalize the liberal opposition, which is now under the control of the “students” and lacks the ability to act independently. These changes were also reflected in the local elections, where the “students” decided which candidates would be nominated. Subsequently, Milo Lompar—a recycled Koštunica-era (Koštunica was the first President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the counterrevolution in 2000.) figure who supported neoliberal reforms and participated in the politics that led to the breakup of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia—was chosen as the new face of the so-called student protests.
These protests are not isolated from global developments. Western imperialism, responsible for the conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine, Iran, and elsewhere, aims to bring Serbia— which is not a member of the EU or NATO—under its full control. Their goal is to impose an even more servile government on Serbia, one completely dictated by Brussels and Washington, because Serbia is today an important economic partner of socialist China and has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
The NKPJ understands the justified anger of the people and recognizes that many young people are frustrated with the current political situation in Serbia, for which the greatest responsibility lies with the ruling SNS regime. Although our members and youth organization have also been targeted by regime-controlled media, as communists we do not view politics through the lens of emotion, but through objective political processes. Liberal-nationalist protests cannot serve the interests of the people. That is why, as communists, we must speak the truth. We are not guided by trends, but by principles. We are fierce opponents of Aleksandar Vučić’s regime, and we are equally aware that a bad government could be replaced by an even worse and more servile one. That would be disastrous for the people of Serbia.
The working people of Serbia have no interest in participating in these protests. The NKPJ calls on the working class and citizens to form a true people’s front that will advocate for closer ties with BRICS and oppose Serbia’s membership in the EU, as well as promote cooperation with socialist countries such as the People’s Republic of China, the DPR of Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba, along with friendly nations like Venezuela, Russia, Nicaragua, Belarus, Angola, Palestine, the Sahel countries, and other genuine allies who do not issue ultimatums. We will continue to pursue a principled policy in the interest of ordinary people and the broad masses.
The Secretariat of the New Communist Party of Yugoslavia
Belgrade,
04.07.2025.
