Academic community supports anti-violence protests

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More than 400 members of the Serbian academic community lent their support to the weekly Serbia Against Violence protests, a statement said.

It said that 436 teachers professors, researchers, university and institute associates signed the statement. “Serbia has been a country which has not media freedom for an entire deade. Serbia’s public space has been polluted by hatred and violence mainly via national frequencies which are a public resource,” it said and added that there has also been no political accountability for a decade.

“The response to the horrific tragedies this spring has boiled down to attempts by the authorities to avoid any kind of political responsibility. The authorities responded to the cry of the public to stop Serbia from being this kind of country with insults, lies and a synchronized witch hunt against public figures who dared voice an opinion,” the statement said.

It said that students headed the protest marchers last week. “The call for university professors and staff is an attempt to make Serbia a country in which our students see their future,” the statement said and called for the immediate implementation of the protest demands.