According to Djukic, the protest cannot be branded as nationalist because some members of the Main Council are not Serbs. He said that one of the people who suggested that students visit Saint Sava cathedral is Bunjevac [Croat from northern Serbia], therefore a Catholic [Serbs are Eastern Orthodox, while Croats are Catholic Christians]. "He proposed that idea as a way to spread our protests. We don't care whether someone is a Serb or a Croat, we don't care about anybody's nationality or religion; all we want is that laws and the Constitution are respected in this country, that we have a democratic system; if we can live together, and we can, then nothing else matters," concluded Djukic.
He also pointed out that student protesters carry flags of various [western] countries and of the European Union because they want to show that they belong to a nation which is just like any other nation. "By that, we show that we want to be a part of the world and that we can be a part of the world, because we have enough intelligence, knowledge and know how to show that," added Djukic.
To the question whether it was true, as New York Times wrote, that the students are protesting because Milosevic failed to establish "greater Serbia", Djukic responded that sometimes even a victory in a war can actually be a defeat. "In a country in which a large proportion of population lives in poverty, the president of the country can never be a winner," said Djukic. " We don't think that we gained anything with the establishment of a Serb state in Bosnia. We have lost our dignity, we have to listen to the people in power, who steal, who have stolen everything, starting with "old" foreign currency deposits in Serbian Banks and our parent's salaries, and ending with our future," emphasized Djukic.
"We were heartened by support from Slovenia" |
Djukic also said that the leadership of the Student protest is aware that the democratic changes will bring up some very difficult questions: why was there a war, who was responsible for the war, and what was the role of Milosevic and Belgrade in all that. "Of course that we are aware of that. We are facing the same problem that Germans faced at the end of W.W.II : they had to prove that not all of them thought like Hitler. That is a huge problem. We must demonstrate that we also have positive, freedom loving traditions, that we have things we can be proud of," emphasized Djukic. He expressed hope that "younger generations will find courage to think about all that, especially since they didn't take part and are not responsible for all that, and that they will try to make amends for the deeds of others."
"Why should people leave if they can prove here that they are intelligent and capable. That's what we want. We want to work, to live. That's all. That's behind our slogan 'Belgrade is the World'. This city is the world. We have a lot of that world here, a lot of good people and very different people. And we want it to stay like that," said the Chair of the Student protest, Aleksandar Djukic.
"It is high time that the power in Serbia was passed peacefully, based on election results. We hope that, finally, the rule of law and democracy will be established. That's our goal," said Djukic. He added that "Student protest '96", was "a typical civic protest" because of the annulment of the election results; students don't want to be forced to leave the country because of the people in power, no matter who they are. "Foreign journalists often ask 'how many of you will leave the country' and I respond that, God willing, none of us will. If we are defeated, the majority of us will leave," said Djukic. He emphasized that students have different life styles and political affiliations, that some members of the Main Council of the Protest are also members of some political parties, but that a majority of students does not belong to any political party. "We want to give power to someone who can improve our living conditions, return our human dignity, and to ensure that we have a right to vote as we desire; a lot of student votes were stolen in the recent local election," said Djukic.
Students are Independent |
To the question whether the students will in the future insist on separate demonstrations from those of "Zajedno" coalition, and whether they insist on separate protests because of fear or something else, Djukic responded that the reason for separate protests is not fear but "a kind of wisdom".
"We don't want to make it possible for the authorities to say that we are led by Zoran Djindjic, Vesna Pesic or Vuk Draskovic ["Zajedno" leaders]. We want to avoid such accusations, because they may lead to a break with some of our parents, some of whom voted for "Zajedno" while others voted for the Socialists; we are sure that all of them will vote for us. They will trust us more [than the authorities] because they know that we are young, educated and that we really care and want to start living a normal life in this country instead of worrying daily whether there will be enough money for food. Our parents know that we want to live like all normal people, who respect certain rules, because they live in legal states.
"These students are patriots; why should they emigrate if they can live here." Djukic asserted that president Milosevic is under increasing pressure and that "whether he wants it or not, he will have to give in to the demands of foreign politicians, governments and media and also to the demands of more than 100,000 protesters who had been demonstrating daily in the streets. Who knows how long the protesters will remain peaceful," said Djukic and added that "there are some changes" and that "the situations is not the same as before". "The time of lies is over. They are trying to hide the truth, but with 150,000 people daily in the streets..." Djukic claimed that the students were not tired and that "they will not get tired because each one of them knows that this is about his or hers own future; and one doesn't play with the future."