Saturday, November 15, 2025

Diktat identiteta u službi osvete i otimačine

Početkom oktobra, dekan Filozofskog fakulteta, rektor Univerziteta u Nišu, nastavnici, studenti, adminstrativni radnici - saznali su iz dnevne štampe da je nekolicina njihovih kolega dok su se oni hvatali u koštac sa nasiljem diktatorskog režima, u tajnosti, sa istim tim režimom dogovorila otvaranje novog fakulteta izdvajanjem triju departmana iz postojećeg Filozofskog fakulteta. Saznali su to iz objavljenog dokumenta Ministarstva prosvete, koji inicijativu predstavlja kao predlog Univerzitta u Nišu (a da ovaj za nju nije ni znao). Usledili su novi dokumenti, preadresirali inicijativu na (nenadležnog!) gradonačelnika Niša, ali i objavlili da je novi fakultet već osnovan, a da reč studenata, zapošljenh, Fakulteta, Univerziteta niti je tražena, niti će biti uzimana u obzir. Pogođeni departmani su razmatrali odluku, dva od tri značajnom većinom glasali protiv, tela Fakulteta i Univerziteta su se usprotivila, ali po svemu sudeći, diktatura i njeni ljudi ne bi bili dostojni tog epiteta kad bi se osvrtali na stavove institucija i većine, ili na štetu koju im nanose.

Tako blizu… 

Osnivanje Fakulteta srpskih studija moglo bi da bude najbolje što se ikad desilo Filozofskom fakultetu  u Nišu. Uz malo borbe i malo sreće. Imam u vidu sledeći scenario. Novi fakultet ne preuzima postojeće programe već osniva nove, u skladu sa retorikom iza njegovog osnivanja: Slavistika umesto Ruskog jezika i književnosti, Srpske studije umesto Srpskog jezika i književnosti, Srpska istorija umesto Istorije. Na fakultet prelaze samo oni koji to žele: oni koji se ne slažu sa idejom fakulteta za nacionalizam ostaju na Filozofskom, na svojim departmanima i programima studija - jer oni po svojim uverenjima nisu u mogućnosti da drže nastavu u skladu sa svrhom novog fakulteta. Prelazak se pak omogućuje i svim onima koji dele osnivačka uverenja a nisu na tri pomenuta departmana, jer oni su profil koji novom fakultetu zaista može da doprinese, a novi fakultet ionako planira da ima i istraživačko osoblje, i širi se povrh tri programa koje otima od Filozofskog.

Posle ovakvog raspleta, Filozofski fakultet bi bio neuporedivo kvalitetnija naučna i nastavna institucija, i prijatno mesto za rad. Da ne govorim o tome da će, nakon što novi fakultet pokaže da ne može da upiše ni dvocifren broj studenata, da njegovi diplomci ne zadovoljavaju standarde visoko obrazovanog kadra, nakon što naredni ministar uvidi, ili pod pritiskom nekakvog MMFa ili ambasadora prihvati da je takav fakultet finansijski neopravdan, i ukine ga - srpska akademska zajednica, a samim tim i Srbija, napraviti kvalitativni skok na planu nauke, etike, međuljudskih odnosa.


… a tako daleko. Zašto Fakultet srpskih studija?


Zašto osnivači fakulteta ne zagovaraju upravo ovakav scenario, kad je on očito u duhu propagiranih ciljeva: za novi fakultet dobijaju sve one koji misle da se na polzu nacije radi velikim glasnim rečima, izolacijom, vraćanjem u izmaštanu prošlost, klerikalzmom, totalitarizmom, a ratosiljaju se onih koji takav stav ne dele? Razlog ne može biti pomenuti prospekt ukidanja novog fakulteta jer valjda njegovi osnivači ne veruju da će ukidanje biti izvesnije ako fakultet bude verniji svojim proklamovanim cijevima - naprotiv! Stvarni razlog je kompleksniji, i kreće od toga da kao i kod bilo kog drugog nacionalističkog bukanja, cilj osnivanja fakulteta nije onaj deklarisani, nacionalistički, već splet ličnih interesa i niskih pobuda.

Šta je sve u upravo ovakvom osnivanju poželjno za njegove aktere?

  1. Osveta. Nastavnici osnivači fakulteta svi su bliski diktatorskom režimu, dobrim delom funkcioneri ili politički bašibozuci. Već godinu dana od svog zanata ne dobijaju ono na šta su navikli: umesto nagrada, napredovanja, uticaja, trpe prezir i gledaju ljubav i solidarnost u zdravom i časnom tkivu zajednice, što je za njih neka vrsta pakla na zemlji. Ovo je njima, ali i nosiocima režima sve do onog na vrhu, prva značajnija prilika za ličnu osvetu. Prilika da kolegama nastavnicima, svojim studentima, Fakultetu, i Univerzitetu nanesu štetu i bol, zagorčaju život, i manifestuju moć. Zato je važno da na novi fakultet pređu i protivnici šovinizma, kao i svi studenti upisani na tri studijska programa - da se potčine i trpe.

  2. Moć, novac, zvanja. Novom fakultetu je obećan velikodušan budžet, a budžetima se pod kriminalnom vlašću upravlja kao resursom za lično bogaćenje. Nastavnicima koji rade na njegovom osnivanju su obećana mesta u dekanatu, Savetu, mesta upravnika departmana i druge funkcije koje zahvaljujući svojim kvalitetima bez toga ni u ovakvoj državi nikad ne bi imali.

  1. Nož u telu univerziteta. Ćaci fakultet - fakultet pod punom kontrolom vlasti, način je da vlast trajno efektivno ukine zakonom garantovanu autonomiju univerziteta i onemogući njegovo jedinstvo u vreme žestokih pritisaka i teških izazova. On je i mogućnost da režimski trovači javnog prostora snimaju svoje idilične priloge, intervjuišu nastavnike koji se protive blokadama, fingiraju događaje prema svojim potrebama, i sve to prikazuju kao reprezentativno za univerzitet.

  2. Uhlebljenje za ćacije. Osnivačima fakulteta je jasno da osveta ima cenu. Ako samo budu preuzeta tri departmna, u Izbornom i Nastavnom veću novog fakulteta, nastavnici koji su silom prevedeni biće u većini, izabraće svoj dekanat, napraviti svoj studijske programe, i donositi svoje odluke. Zato se može pretpostaviti da je deo velikog budžeta koji je obećan namenjen upravo zapošljenju osoba odanih režimu, verovatno sumnjivih naučnih kvalifikacija, kao nagrada za njihovo služenje kriminalnoj vlasti, i ujedno garancija kontrole nad glasanjima.

  1. Spin. Tragični i dramatični događaji kojima poslednjih godina srpski javni prostor obiluje, učinili su građane neosetljivim na uobičajne spinove kriminalnog režima. Šokiranje bezočnim, monstruoznim postupcima postalo je jedini način da diktatura iole skrene pažnju svojih glasača sa bolnih prizora unesrećenih i zatim vređanih, ponižavanih i mrcvarenih roditelja, sa pljačke, trajnog zagađenja, trovanja, opšteg uništenja koje je sve teže sakriti. Saga o diplomiranim Srbima već nekoliko nedelja ispunjava ovu funkciju.

  2. Služimo bezbednosti. Gotovo sve informacije o fakultetu od njegovih osnivača pominju uvođenje programa studija bezbednosti. Nazire se ambicija saradnika odmetnutih i otetih službi da pojačaju pozicije, i onih fasciniranih njima da ostvare snove. Ali i namera same službe da produži i ojača svoj pipke.

  3. Ruska medicina je najbolja na svetu. Jedan od tri departmana Fakulteta srpskih studija čine Ruski jezik i književnost, što ceo poduhvat vezuje za onu vrstu srpskog nacionalizma koja bi Srbiju da vidi kao rusku koloniju. O uspehu višegodišnje politike dezorijentacije javnog mnenja i degradacije razuma svedoči činjenica da među građanima Srbije ima onih koji prihvataju ovaj oksimoron (naravno, ni bolji ni gori od prizivanja zapadnog protektorata u ime demokratije).


O fakultetu za negovanje identiteta


Univerzitet i negovanje etničkog ili nacionalnog identiteta su pojmovi bez ijedne tačke preseka. Univerzitet je mesto naučnog istraživanja i obrazovanja zasnovanog na njemu, gde naučno istraživanje podrazumeva objektivnost, pre svega nezavisnost od vrednosnog sistema. Negovanje identiteta podrazumeva da je taj identitet pozitivna vrednost, i uključuje akcije koje mogu biti sve, samo ne naučnoistraživačke. Ideja fakulteta za negovanje identiteta toliko je očigledno naopaka da je ni osnivači zagrebačkog uzora niškog fakulteta, Fakulteta Hrvatskih studija, nikad i nigde nisu uvrstili u svoju retoriku. Novi niški fakultet je već svojom definicijom nakaza.

Čak i kada ostavimo po strani činjenicu da je u pitanju fakultet, već pojam negovanja identiteta pokazuje potpuno nerazumevanje ovog pojma - ali i opasnu dozu totalitarne ideologije. Identitet - etnički, nacionalni, rodni, klasni - formira se spontano u interakciji pojedinca i zajednice. Jedan od osnovnih parametara slobode jeste mogućnost da se ovaj proces neometano odvija, da svako svoj identitet konstruiše, imenuje, ralizuje prema svojim svesnim i nesvesnim izborima. Ideja da neka institucija ili neki pojedinac oblikuje identitet, i da nam ga onda nametne državnim ili društvenim pritiskom, u snažnom je konfliktu sa idejama slobode i demokratije, i jako opasna za svaku zajednicu. A kada se ostvari, ona je jako oružje eventualne, a u našem slučaju aktuelne tiranske vlasti - u čijim uslovima jedino i može da zaživi. I to i jeste osnova svih nabrojanih motiva za novi fakultet.

Identitet za univerzitet može samo biti zanimljiv kao predmet naučnog proučavanja. Proučavanja koje mora imati kritički pristup, i po svojoj prirodi biti usmereno sticanju opštih teorijskih znanja - o identitetu uopšte, o čoveku, o zajednici, a ne narcisoidnom spoznavanju, odnosno projektovanju, i zatim proglašavanju, sopstvene veličine. Ne postoji saznanje o srpskom ili bilo kom drugom pojdinačnom identitetu koje po sebi može imati naučnu vrednost - naučna vrednost nastaje samo kad takvo znanje uporedimo sa uvidima u druge identitete, i iz njega izvučemo zaključke o dubljoj prirodi identiteta, čoveka, sveta. Bez komparativnog konteksta, bez interakcije sa nemačkim, francuskim, engleskim studijama, srpske studije ne mogu da postoje, i njihovo izdvajanje iz komparativnog konteksta je njihovo suštinsko izdvajanje iz nauke i iz univerziteta, šta god pisalo na osnivačkom dokumentu.

O iskrenosti izložene pseudoargumentacije za osnivanje fakulteta svedoči činjenica da jedan od tri njegova programa predstavljaju studije ruskog jezika i književnosti. Nakon što je fakultet zbog ovoga postao predmet ismevanja, osnivači su odgovorili da su u pitanju studije slavistike a ne ruskog jezika i književnosti, jer “bez slavistike nema ni srbistike” (iz teksta Dejana Markovića u Politici). Osim u svojstvu jeftine politikantske floskule, ovakvom stavu nije moguće pridati održiv smisao. Srbistike još manje ima bez filozofije, ili bez etnologije, kulturologije, lingvistike, opšte književnosti, i gomile drugih disciplina, pa novi fakultet neće imati odgovarajuće departmane. Srbistike pogoovu nema bez anglistike, germanistike, romanistike, pa se srbistika izdvaja iz fakulteta na kome se one proučavaju.

Jedno moguće razumevanje ovog stava dobija na težini kada znamo da osoba koja govori o slavistici nema slavističke ekspertize izvan rusistike, te da pod pojmom slavistike osobe bliske ruskom imperijalizmu često podrazumevaju ideju da su ruski jezik i kultura nekakav osnov svih slovenskih jezika i kultura, i da potonje treba istraživati i razumeti samo u tom kontekstu. Na pozadini ovog naučno blatantno naopakog stava, bavljenje rusistikom, i traženje porekla i zasnivanja slovenskih kultura u ruskoj po sebi predstavlja i bavljenje slavistikom. Ovu interpretaciju potkrepljuje i eksplicitna izjava planiranog vršioca dužnosti dekana novog fakulteta u Politici, koji kaže da će “sadašnje Odeljenje za ruski jezik i književnost biti preimenovano u Odeljenje za slavistiku”. Dakle, neće biti zapošljeni profesori za poljski, češki, bugarski, slovenački, beloruski jezik, književnost i kulturu, da bi se moglo govoriti o stvarnoj slavistici, nego će za rusistiku biti korišćen perfidni hiperonim.

O iskrenosti i realnosti planova o novom fakultetu govori i činjenica da su osnivanje novog fakulteta osudile kolege sa svih relevantnih institucija koje se bave istraživanjem u oblasti filologije: Filološkog fakulteta u Beogradu, Filozofskog fakulteta u Novom Sadu, Filozofskog fakulteta u Beogradu, Filološko-umetničkog fakulteta u Kragujevcu, Instituta za književnost i umetnost. Kakav je naučni kapacitet, kakav kredibiitet, i kakav kapacitet da predvodi istraživanje srpskog jezika i književnosti fakulteta čije osnivanje nailazi na osudu sa svih relevantnih naučnih institucija u ovoj oblasti?


Kuda dalje?


O neistinama, nelogičnostima, apsurdima, retoričkim trikovima osnivača fakulteta bi se moglo još satima. Kakva je svrha? Politika diktature koja upravlja Srbijom odavno je ciljano protivrazumska, protivistinita, protivempatijska, protivzakonita i antidemokratska, i svako apelovanje na razum, istinu, empatiju, zakon i demokratiju u takvom kontekstu gubi značenje. Njene nosioce i kolaboratore naša analiza i kritika neće promeniti.

Promena nastaje sa svešću da mi koji želimo društvo koje teži demokratiji, jednakosti, blagostanju i slobodi pojedinca i kolektivnim vrednostima i interesima, činimo većinu i imamo moć da usmeravamo društvo. Ali da je za to potrebno više međusobnog poverenja, razumevanja, više promišljanja i zalaganja, više samokritičnosti, razuma, i pogotovu više hrabrosti kao supstance od koje se sastoje integritet i dostojanstvo. I da uspeh onih koji ih nemaju ne znači da treba da te vrednosti treba da odbacimo, već upravo da treba da im prisegnemo još jače. Pozivam nastavnike i studente Univerziteta u Nišu da ovim vrednostima nastave svoju borbu da sačuvaju autonomiju, da zadrže svoje departmane i studijske programe, i da se odbrane od napada kancera koji je srpsko društvo doveo do potpunog raspada, i sve građane Srbije da ih u tome podrže.

Saturday, April 5, 2025

It's not easy being a dictator (Nije lako biti diktator)

If you want power, to exercise political power, you need to work really hard. It is not easy. You probably cannot do anything else in life. 

Our current dictator joined a political party as a young man, and went through the ranks, working hard for the party. Every day he acted in the best interest of the party and its leadership; he climbed the ropes. He worked tirelessly toward the party's goal of winning votes, and he was waiting for his moment, sacrificing sleep, health, relationships. All for the party and power. At some point money became more important, because people around him depended on his success.

The state - the whole state! - depended on his success, he came to believe.

Mafia methods worked well. A square meter of a newly built apartment building became a stable currency. Money started coming in freely: he figured it out.

Anyone can launder money now by buying an apartment in the capital. The party coffers are filling up through the party's control of construction projects. That money comes in handy before elections.

Our dictator hasn't had a job outside politics since his 20s. He needs to stay in power and keep winning elections, so that the money continues to come in. He also needs to keep bullying, threatening, and demonizing any form of critical journalism, because he knows that free press is bad news (his mother and his first wife were journalists). 

It is all about money at this stage, because he'll lose support unless he keeps generating cash. 

People on the outside watching your success should understand how difficult it is to be you. But, we can't. We should help you and reward your hard work, but you're a dictator. You worked for a dictator and you were always going to become one. Money has to keep coming, because you have pissed off so many people on your way to dictatorship. How many valves can be shut? 

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

From Tragedy to Resistance: The Rising Wave of Student Protests in Serbia

Serbia is a captured state, with a degree of totalitarian power hard to imagine for those who have not experienced it firsthand concentrated in the hands of its president, Aleksandar Vučić, whose powers, by constitution, should be merely ceremonial. He has turned the country into a lawless party state, where tycoons from his close circle break all regulations while draining the budget and robbing the population in every way that the lack of state regulation allows. A central part of it is the substitution of the representation of all social groups – from workers to students, to ethnic minorities, to women, to various minorities with abducted bodies and appointed party soldiers. Recently, an event occurred that alarmed the citizens of the extent to which Vučić's rule has compromised all dimensions of public life, including basic human rights and public safety.

On November 1st, 2024, at 11:52 CET, a 48-meter-long concrete canopy at the central railway station in Novi Sad, the second-largest city in Serbia and the capital of its province Vojvodina, collapsed onto people walking or sitting beneath it, killing 15 persons, including several children, and severely injuring two more.

The station, listed with the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of Novi Sad as a "property under special protection," was renovated in a process that began in 2021 and lasted until 2024. Before the renovation, the construction was assessed as structurally stable without signs of structural damage. However, shortly after the renovation under the banner of unlimited corruption, the canopy collapsed with tragic consequences.

The state, to the extent that such a thing even exists, reacted in a way that raised suspicions. Numerous politicians, along with their loyal media teams, were present at the scene during the rescue operation, often obstructing the rescuers. Owners of some companies involved in the renovation also arrived at the scene and behaved provocatively, showing disrespect for the victims and the injured. Before there was a chance for a complete forensic inspection, the remnants of the canopy were removed. The government and the all-powerful president stated that the canopy was not part of the renovation, which was quickly disproven by project documentation and photo archives. In the service of a political campaign, it underwent works that inevitably led to the collapse, and the building was put into use before the inspection, bypassing the legal safety regulations. It turned out that numerous important steps in the procedure were skipped or ignored, including the final safety check and the usage permit.

The engineer who was the supervising authority for some aspects of the renovation stated that many procedures were not followed, e.g., that paper sacks were shoved into the concrete to save money, and that crucial structural elements were removed to cut costs. Other engineers noticed that during the renovation, the canopy was additionally burdened with steel construction, glass, and stone slabs, which increased its weight by as much as eight or nine times, while the supporting anchors were not reinforced. It was revealed that the engineers responsible for planning and executing the renovation were from wrong engineering fields, such as road-building, making their qualifications questionable for renovating such a structure. Numerous indications – from earlier statements by President Vučić himself and his general style of governance to statements by some of the suspects – pointed to the major role of politics and politicians in the tragic event. A prominent politician deeply involved in the renovation, Goran Vesić, was originally arrested, but even during his arrest, he received privileged treatment, and soon after, he was released, despite the high likelihood that he could influence witnesses and manipulate evidence.

Overcome with grief for the lost lives and faced with a situation where citizens’ safety is sacrificed for the profit of the president's oligarchy, and where no one in the public space is safe, citizens, initially only from Novi Sad, and then from many other cities and towns in the country, spontaneously began to take to the streets every day at 11:52, the time of the tragedy, to hold a one-minute silence for each victim. The arrogant authorities arrested citizens for protesting, staged an attack on the Novi Sad City Assembly, and organized attacks on citizens. Officials of the ruling party – local government members, directors of public enterprises, in groups, attacked and beat citizens protesting, including severely injuring four musicians from the Belgrade Philharmonic and attacking students from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. In response to the latter attack, the entire student population in the country reacted by blocking all universities and formulating four demands, which remain the demands of the civil protest to this day, and until they are met, the blockades will continue:

  1. Release the full documentation related to the renovation of Novi Sad Railway Station
  2. Release all those arrested for honoring the victims and dismiss the charges against them
  3. Bring charges against all those involved in physical attacks on citizens and their organizers
  4. Increase the budget for higher education by 20%.

Students were joined by their professors, and then by some entire faculties, so that eventually, all universities adopted stronger or milder support for the student blockade. To this day, all study program sin the country and all other activities at universities and most scientific institutes have been suspended.

For a while, the state continued with arrests and attacks by hooligans, but then signs of relaxation emerged: those arrested were released (except for one student, who remained in prison for two months without charges and was only recently released), and part of the documentation related to the renovation of the canopy was published – along with some potentially unreliable documents and without the documents most important for determining accountability. What is especially disturbing is that an indictment against 13 people was raised based on incomplete and questionable documentation. The additional suspicion about the fairness of the process is raised by the fact that after receiving the indictment proposal, the court decided to lift the detention for the only political official among the accused, with the explanation that the indictment does not provide grounds for any charges, and even let him flee to Italy. In Serbia, there is a specific procedure for accepting or returning the indictment, which had (and still has) not yet begun. Announcing that the indictment does not hold before it has been assessed by the court indicates that the court decisions are all already made by the politicians.

The student protests show some properties that distinguish them from previous protests in Serbia and beyond. They refuse to elect representatives or coordinators, but rather decide in plenums. They also refuse any negotiations with the officials, insisting that they only ask for the rule of law, which should not even be asked for, let alone negotiated. They also successfully remain dissociated from any political parties, movements or other organizations. The students establish a kind of alliance with farmers, whose protest had already been ongoing, and receive support from teachers and high-school students, who also go on strike.

Simultaneously, pressures by the regime are growing. The students are taken to the security service’s premises for interrogations, security service agents visit their parents at work and threaten them, people with foreign citizenship seen at the demonstrations are interrogated, deported, accused of working for foreign secret services. Party soldiers are sent to occupied faculties to beat the students, provoke incidents.


The student protests are growing too, citizens are joining, and protests are being organized in a huge number of towns, even the small ones where they have never occurred before, and where the government has firm control. On Friday, December 22nd, the streets of Belgrade saw the largest number of people protesting in the history of Serbia and Yugoslavia to the date, more than when Milošević was overthrown. When the authorities expected that the Christmas and New Year holidays would dull the edge of the protests, they continued to grow. Students were joined by other sectors: educators went on strike, as did the bar associations. On Friday, January 24th, a general strike was announced, with a massive number of individuals, firms, and associations participating, and the streets of Serbia saw the largest number of people in protests in the country's history. Meanwhile, the government started a new strategy: individuals in cars drove into the crowd, injuring random protesters. Two female students were seriously injured this way, many received lighter injuries. After a series of such attacks, universities strongly stood by the students in the blockade and demanded that the state prevent violence against them.


It is evident that the regime responds to demands for the functioning of institutions and the rule of law, for respecting the law, with violence and an unwillingness to make even the smallest step in the requested direction. Besides traditional allies of authoritarian populists like Putin, Erdoğan, and Netanyahu, sporadic and reserved reporting in the West on the protests far more popular, creative, politically potent, than many that have been exciting the Western audience for months, indicates that there is also support from the United States and the European Union. This was openly confirmed when Richard Grenell, one of Trump's closest associates in charge of international politics, published a statement that falsely accuses student protest of taking up institutions by violence, and on the same day, Gert Jan Kopman, the General Director of the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, expressed support for Vučić and gathered Serbian opposition parties and NGOs to warn them that the EU would not support a violent change of government (which no one is attempting).

Victims of the canopy collapse:

  1. Milica Adamović (2008)
  2. Sanja Ćirić Arbutina (1989)
  3. Đorđe Firić (1971)
  4. Sara Firić (2018)
  5. Valentina Firić (2014)
  6. Stefan Hrka (1997)
  7. Mileva Karanović (1948)
  8. Nemanja Komar (2007)
  9. Miloš Milosavljević (2003)
  10. Goranka Raca (1966)
  11. Vukašin Raković (1955)
  12. Anđela Ruman (2004)
  13. Vasko Sazdovski (1979)
  14. Đuro Švonja (1947)
  15. Anja Radonjić (2000)
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Neodinamika by Arsenijevic and Mitrovic is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.