We are shocked and appalled by the violence inflicted upon Miodrag Kapor, a political activist and energy expert from Belgrade, and Filip Jovanović, a student from Valjevo, during the protest gathering in Freedom Square in Novi Sad on Saturday, January 17.
Kapor and Jovanović attended the protest carrying the national flags of Albania and Croatia, following the guidance of student bodies that, alongside the national flag and the flags of respective universities, only such flags can be displayed at protest gatherings as symbols of recognized National Minority Councils in Serbia. Kapor and Jovanović raised the flags of Albania and Croatia, believing that this kind of inclusivity can only strengthen the protests, legitimizing their demands and struggles, and serving as an effective counterbalance to numerous extremist symbols, calls for the “defense” of Kosovo, and flags depicting the image of the so called “curly Jesus,” which symbolize Russian aggression in Ukraine. What happened just seconds after these two flags became visible to the crowd utterly disillusioned them.
Kapor and Jovanović were physically attacked, with the flags being ripped from their hands and destroyed while both were doused in tear gas, and then subjected to collective violence. In addition, Kapor and Jovanović also experienced verbal abuse from individuals in green berets who introduced themselves as war veterans and self-proclaimed security for the protest. After bombarding them with threats and insults, the physical attacks on the two activists resumed, from which they barely managed to defend themselves, ending up at the Emergency Center.
We, the KROKODIL Association, emphasize that we firmly stand with Miodrag Kapor and Filip Jovanović, whom we know as exceptionally brave and just fighters for a better future in Serbia, and we are horrified by all the attacks these two activists had to endure. Unfortunately, numerous insults, threats, defamation attempts, and various spins continue to proliferate on social media, which is merely an organized continuation of the physical violence in the public space that these two brave activists have already experienced.
We sincerely hope that the public in Serbia will finally muster the strength to see through the manipulations of the extreme right, which has been allowed to establish its rules of the game unimpeded at protests and that the perpetrators of violence will be punished, while all those who perpetuate an atmosphere of paranoia, eternal regional hostilities, and toxic ethnocentrism, which has kept Serbia in (self) isolation and complete confusion regarding its place on the map of the region, Europe, and the world for so long, will finally be recognized and permanently disavowed.
Link to the video showing the attack on Miodrag Kapor and Filip Jovanović: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTnutUVjXjD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
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