Belgrade 24 February 2023 “Stop the war in Ukraine” (photo M. Moratti)
Hundreds of people demonstrated on Friday February 24 in Belgrade one year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The “March of Solidarity” united Serbian, Ukrainian and Russian groups and NGOs who demonstrated against the war
In Belgrade, as in many other cities in Europe and the rest of the world, the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year was remembered.
A number of initiatives in support of Ukraine and against the Russian invasion took place in the city. The previous days, one series of posters they had appeared in the city bearing the two flags, Serbian and Ukrainian, recalling the previous 365 days, under the banner of solidarity, prayers and support for Ukraine. Some NGOs from Belgrade have organized photographic exhibitions to commemorate the event, round tables with Ukrainian guests, meetings and fundraisers in support of the Ukrainian population, while activists tried to deliver to the Russian ambassador in Belgrade a bloody cake on which macabrely stood out a skull and symbolically have sent invitations to Putin to turn himself in at the International Criminal Court.
The organizers of these events were numerous organizations and informal groups, both Serbian, Ukrainian and Russian such as the informal group of “Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Serbs, together against the war” (“Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Serbs against the war”), the Russian Democratic Society (Russian Democratic Society), the organization of Ukrainians “Do Good ” but also local NGOs such as Crocodile not Women in Black , to name a few, as more and more organizations have joined the anti-war protesters in recent times. In addition to Belgrade, demonstrations were also held the following day in Novi Sad.
The main event was the solidarity march with Ukraine which took place on Friday 24th and was attended by several hundred people, Serbs, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, many foreign diplomats, including the Ukrainian ambassador and several non-governmental organizations. The march started from Pionirski park and ended in Trg Republike, where a huge Ukrainian flag was unfurled accompanied by the Serbian and Ukrainian national anthems: on the square, a series of photos showed what happened in Ukraine during the last year and a collection of Ukrainian children’s toys reminded those present of the heavy toll of innocent victims the conflict has taken. The emotion of those present was alive and palpable.
The interventions
The first to speak was Volodymyr Tolkac, the ambassador of Ukraine in Serbia who explained what the war has meant in terms of losses in the last year. The ambassador himself said he was surprised and delighted by the large number of people present in the square and by the fact that support for Ukraine is growing, “we will never accept the slavery of the Kremlin” he reiterated firmly at the end of his speech. Previously Tolkac, in an’interview he explained, referring to the issue of Serbia’s sanctions against Russia, that while as a diplomat he understands the position of the Serbian government that in order to preserve its territorial integrity it does not want to impose sanctions on Russia, nevertheless this is a difficult position for the Ukrainians who are faced with Russian bombing every day.
After the Ukrainian ambassador, Annika Ben David, Swedish ambassador spoke on behalf of the Council of the European Union of which Sweden holds the presidency: “For Sweden, the war in Ukraine changed everything, Sweden renounced two hundred years of neutrality and decided to support Ukraine. This conflict is an attack on our values, which will decide our future. The European Union will support Ukraine for as long as necessary”. It was followed by Emanuele Giaufret, the EU ambassador to Serbia who reiterated how Ukraine has shown the world that it is up to them to decide their own future and that the European Union will be in solidarity with Ukraine at all times necessary. It has not gone unnoticed that the two diplomats used exactly the same expression, “as long as it takes” to demonstrate the European commitment to support Ukraine.
Representatives of opposition parties and activists who have worked hard to support the Ukrainian cause in recent months followed, who did not mince words to denounce the influence and hybrid propaganda that Russia is conducting in Serbia which prevents the latter from clearly taking a stand in favor of Ukraine. There was only one member of the SNS of Aleksandar Vučić, who however did not take the floor.
Belgrade 24 February 2023 (photo M. Moratti)
The government’s position
As widely anticipated, members of the Serbian government were not present at the demonstration, while in the afternoon, Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and three ministers attended the opening of the exhibition of photographs recalling the Ukrainian resistance, but the Prime Minister did not make any statements on the matter. However, it should be noted that just a few hours earlier, Serbia had also voted in favor of the resolution of the UN General Assembly calling for an end to the war and the immediate withdrawal of Russia from Ukraine. The resolution passed with 141 votes in favour, including precisely Serbia, 7 against and 32 abstentions.
The Serbian government therefore continues the so-called “two-chair policy”, in line with its previous positions, but without taking a clear-cut position on the thorny issue of sanctions. There was no surprise in this sense and it was not conceivable that there was. At the moment much of the Serbian government’s attention is focused on the issue of Kosovo, given that there is speculation in many quarters that today, Monday 27 February, there may be acceptance of the Franco-German plan.
Belgrade 24 February 2023 (photo M. Moratti)
No accidents or counter-demonstrations… or almost
The march, although it was not the first initiative of this kind, was undoubtedly the demonstration that has brought together the most people in the past year. It is estimated that several hundred demonstrators took part: in addition to the numerous Russians and Ukrainians present in Belgrade, the presence of civil society and numerous Serbian citizens was visible. Both the march and the other demonstrations took place in a serene atmosphere and without incidents.
Contrary to a year ago, when at the beginning of March 2022, there was a large manifestation in favor of Russia this year the Serbian government apparently has prohibited such demonstrations . Far-right organizations such as Narodna Patrola therefore limited themselves to organizing a prayer vigil to ask for the release of three of their members who, shouting “Serbia, Russia”, were arrested just ten days ago for trying to raid the Serbian presidency , in protest of the Kosovo accords. On that occasion, counter-demonstrations were announced on the occasion of the first year of war in Ukraine. A prayer vigil was held on Friday evening. The vigil was initially supposed to be held in the church and instead took place outside the church… because the church was closed: the vigil was therefore transformed into a demonstration of several dozen people and there were no accidents. As mentioned, with the exception of this demonstration, which in any case was also attended by representatives of the Serbian right-wing forces, there were no other large-scale demonstrations.
Support for Ukraine seems to be growing in Serbia, at least judging by the numbers. The government, however, continues to maintain its line. In this way the intertwining of sanctions against Russia, EU demands and the Kosovo issue continues, as does the policy of the two chairs, increasingly shaky however, on which the Vučić government is based. The possible signing of the Kosovo agreement will be the next episode in this story.
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