Students from several high schools in Novi Sad announced a boycott of classes on Wednesday as a gesture of solidarity with Dijana Hrka, Milomir Jaćimović, and his son Milan Jaćimović, who are currently on hunger strike in protest of state injustice and political repression.
The boycott involves students from Svetozar Marković Gymnasium, Isidora Sekulić Gymnasium, Jovan Jovanović Zmaj Gymnasium, Karlovac Philological Gymnasium, 7th April Medical School, Mihajlo Pupin Electrical Engineering School, Mileva Marić Einstein Technical School, and Svetozar Miletić Secondary School.
In a statement shared on social media, students declared that in a country where a mother must risk her life to demand truth about her murdered son, and where a father and his minor son must starve to defend their right to free thought, youth cannot remain silent.
They emphasized that their action represents a stand for justice and truth against a corrupt system that suppresses dissent and silences the brave.
“Our conscience and our hearts do not allow us to stand aside while Dijana Hrka, Milomir Jaćimović, and our peer Milan fight a battle for all of us,” the students wrote on Instagram. “Children inside us know everything — the youth feel, and the youth remember.”
Professor Ivan Pivnički, a history teacher at the Mileva Marić Einstein Technical School, stated during the protest “Our Ancestors Are Our Role Models” that education workers will also suspend work in solidarity, stressing that “education will not remain silent because it is the backbone of this society.”
“You can see the sacrifice of a mother, Dijana Hrka, and of Mr. Jaćimović,” Pivnički said. “These sacrifices signal that freedom is coming and that the people will once again take control of our state. Every fight for freedom demands sacrifice.”
Meanwhile, Novi Sad’s mayor Žarko Mićin, a loyalist of the Vučić regime, attempted to discourage the boycott, accusing opposition groups of “political manipulation” of minors.
He warned that absences from school would be treated in accordance with the law, a statement many see as a thinly veiled threat aimed at intimidating students and teachers.
Mićin wrote on Instagram that previous school disruptions had caused learning losses, calling on parents to “preserve peace, order, and stability” — a familiar phrase in the government’s ongoing campaign to suppress legitimate civic resistance under the guise of stability.
Despite the government’s pressure, the protest movement continues to gain strength, reflecting a growing public anger toward the authoritarian policies of Aleksandar Vučić’s regime, where truth, justice, and freedom of expression are increasingly under siege.
