Amid widespread outrage over violent attacks on students in Novi Sad, Serbian Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabić attempted to shift blame, framing the protests as an attack not on the government but on the Serbian state and its key institutions.
Speaking at a press conference in Narodna Skupština Srbije, Brnabić claimed that the events marked by masked assailants attacking students and journalists were “not a fight against Aleksandar Vučić or the SNS,” but rather a confrontation against Serbia itself.
“Scenes that we witnessed in Novi Sad have not been seen since 1945,” Brnabić stated, alleging that the protestors had targeted the Matica srpska, the Patriarch, and the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church, calling them “pillars of our society and nation.”
She dismissed media reports and citizen accounts of students being beaten as “repulsive media spin”, asserting that demonstrators’ true intent was to disrupt celebrations marking 200 years of Matica srpska, and argued that those attending the unapproved protests should face imprisonment.
Contradicting Evidence
Despite Brnabić’s claims, multiple videos and eyewitness accounts confirm that masked attackers associated with the ruling party physically assaulted students and journalists, causing at least three students injured and one journalist attacked multiple times.
Civil society groups have condemned Brnabić’s rhetoric as attempts to relativize state-sanctioned violence and to divert attention from growing public concern over political intimidation and suppression of dissent.
Political Context
Brnabić framed the protests in Novi Sad as part of a larger narrative of external and internal threats, citing “military alliances around Serbia” and portraying citizens’ dissent as attacks on national identity. Analysts argue that such statements conflate legitimate protest with anti-state activity, undermining democratic discourse and justifying the government’s increasingly repressive stance.
Observers note that labeling protests against political violence as “attacks on Serbia” shifts responsibility from the ruling party to the victims, normalizing intimidation and further polarizing society.
Public Response
Across Serbia, students and citizens have continued to organize protests under slogans like “Beograd ne ćuti” and “Niš ne ćuti”, rejecting both violence and political spin. Demonstrators insist that their fight is for justice, civil liberties, and accountability, emphasizing that attacking dissenters undermines the rule of law and the credibility of state institutions.
