Interview with Milan St. Protic (summary)

In an interview for your favourite net-magazine one of our reporters interviewed Milan St. Protic, a respectable historian and University professor in Belgrade. This is only a summary of that interview.

When asked why the pro-government media kept calling them the manipulated youth he said that it is not a question wether the students are manipulated or not, but who and on what basis has the right to tell them that they are manipulated or politically active (or inactive). The right to a political attitude should be accessible to every citizen of this country-including the students.

Concerning the students' protest itself he said that whenever young people rise to confront the government it is a good sign because it means that they have common sense-even in political systems with a smaller tendency towards abuse of civil rights than this one. When young people raise their voice, it means that they are open-minded, they will not settle for the present, they tend to express their opinion, they have the courage to do all this, that there is a healthy side in their life. How long all this will last is difficult to say, but it seems that it is all going to be solved very soon, because the government is starting to realize that the recognition of the electoral results from the 17. November is the last thing it can do right now. He then said that the actions that the students and citizens took are the best guarantee for a fair election next time.

When asked what he thought about the effort, made by our fellow students from Nis and Novi Sad, of coming to Belgrade on foot he said that young people are often recognized by their witty and interesting ideas. He said that this was such an idea and it showed to just what extent the persistence and strong will of the students will go if challenged.

He also said that his only advice that he could give to the students is to think with their own heads.


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