Serbia: A Democratic Uprising Facing Escalating Repression
by Vladimir Simović, International Secretary of the Political Platform “Solidarnost”
For the past ten months, Serbia has witnessed the emergence of one of the most significant grassroots movements in its modern history. The protests began after the collapse of a canopy of the Novi Sad railway station that claimed 16 lives. What started as silent vigils at intersections across the country to mourn the victims soon grew into a broader expression of public outrage. Citizens were standing in silence, blocking streets, and demanding accountability.
Very soon, the movement faced repression. Protesters were attacked by by lower-ranking officials and members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, including students and professors in front of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade. This triggered a wave of student occupations and faculty blockades. Through plenums — assemblies where decisions are made collectively — students organized themselves with striking effectiveness and determination. What began as a student uprising quickly transformed into a broad social movement.
From Student Revolt to a Civic Uprising
Students invited citizens to form local assemblies (zborovi) across Serbia, which spread rapidly. In these assemblies, people gather to debate, deliberate, and vote on collective decisions about further actions. This form of direct democracy has created crucial organizing hubs — decentralized but highly coordinated — allowing citizens to plan campaigns, protests, and community initiatives.
This has also revealed the deep crisis of representative democracy in Serbia. For years, opposition parties have failed to challenge the regime at the ballot box, constrained by both the ruling party’s domination over media and state institutions, and their own inability to address the real social and economic concerns of the people. In contrast, the student-led movement operates outside traditional party structures, relying on horizontal and participatory practices that have earned it broad public legitimacy.
Historic Mobilizations and Escalating Repression
Over the past ten months, protests have taken many forms and varied in size and intensity. On March 15, over 350,000 people filled the streets of Belgrade — the largest protest in the country’s history. Contrary to expectations that the movement would lose momentum, it has remained vibrant, forcing the regime into an escalating cycle of repression.
Since June 28, political persecution has intensified. Nearly 1,000 people have been detained in opaque and politically motivated trials. Students and citizens are subjected to constant surveillance, arrests, and smear campaigns. Yet instead of weakening the movement, this repression has only deepened people’s determination to resist. The government has tried to portray the movement as violent, foreign-financed, or as a “colored revolution,” but these narratives have failed to gain traction among most of the public.
EU Complicity and the Struggle Ahead
The regime continues to rely on its portrayal as a “pillar of stability.” This image is particularly important for EU partners, to whom President Vučić has offered lithium extraction in the Jadar Valley — now listed as a critical raw material by the EU — as well as major arms purchases from France, directly negotiated with President Macron. Despite mass public opposition to these projects, they are used to justify continued EU support for Vučić’s increasingly authoritarian rule. This makes EU silence on the repression even more alarming.
Still, the EU is not monolithic. Critical voices within European institutions are emerging, demanding an end to support for authoritarianism in Serbia. The people of Serbia are showing extraordinary courage, creativity, and solidarity in their fight for freedom and democracy. They are building an alternative future from below — one rooted in participation, equality, and social justice.
No country should be turned into an authoritarian colony for resource extraction and cheap labour. The struggle of the people of Serbia today is also a struggle for the future of all Europe — a future that must be democratic, social, and based on solidarity.
Photo by: Bojan Kovačević