marta szpala

Western Balkans;
PhD candidate @GSSR_Warsaw;
Writes about Balkans for @tygodnik;
Senior fellow at Centre for Eastern Studies @OSW_pl @OSW_eng
|Personal views|

[marta szpala @mszpala]

This is Majdanpek-small miners' town in Eastern Serbia (photo Snezana Todorovic #Možeidrugačije)

Behind the city is a copper mine owned since 2018 by Chinese company, which dramatically increased production to export copper to China

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[Niemcy w ruinie? @NiemcyWRuinie]

@kwiatkowskanna @mszpala https://t.co/77QzlXaTBS

[marta szpala @mszpala]

Wczoraj serbska policja bez zapowiedzi weszła do rektoratu Uniwersytetu w Belgradzie. Pretekstem była śmierć studentki, ale celem tych działań było zastraszenie akademii i spacyfikowanie trwających już półtora roku protestów. Poniżej wypowodź rektora

[Filip Ejdus @FilipEjdus]

Full transcript of today's historic speech by the Rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić:

“Dear citizens of Serbia,

At noon today, members of the Criminal Police entered the building of the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade. Without prior notice. Without a clear legal explanation. Without respect for the autonomy of the oldest and most distinguished educational institution in Serbia.

They seized computers and servers. They are searching offices. They are looking for documents.

And while they were doing this, regime television broadcast it live. They did not come to investigate. They came to humiliate. They came to tell every professor, every student, every citizen: this is what happens to those who do not remain silent.

Let us clearly state what happened today.

A young woman died on Thursday. A tragedy that deserves a dignified, independent, and thorough investigation. The University of Belgrade immediately called for such an investigation. We offered full cooperation.

Instead, we received a police raid in front of cameras.

The Rectorate’s computers contain no information relevant to the investigation of the death of a student at the Faculty of Philosophy. Everyone knows this. But that is not the point. The point is the image: police in the Rectorate. The rector under investigation. The university on its knees.

That image is meant for you. To make you afraid. To make you think: if they can do this to the University, what can they do to me?

But let us look at another image.

As the police entered through one door, students arrived through another. Thousands of them. Spontaneously. Without party calls, without organization, without buses.

They came because they know what is happening. They came because this is their university. They came because they are not afraid.

That is the real image of today. Not the police in the Rectorate, but the students in front of it.

To the authorities who ordered this, I say:

You can take the computers and servers. You cannot take the truth.

You can search offices. You cannot search the conscience of the people.

You can send the police. But for every patrol you send, a thousand students will come.

Sixteen people died in Novi Sad. No one was held accountable. No one was dismissed. No servers were seized. No offices were searched.

But when a rector stands with students, then the police arrive.

That tells you everything you need to know about this government. They are not afraid of crime. They are afraid of education.

To the students, I say:

You saw what happened today. You saw the police in your University. You saw cameras broadcasting it as if it were a victory.

It is not a victory. It is an admission of defeat. When a government sends police to a university, it means it has lost all arguments. When it seizes computers instead of answering questions, it means it has no answers.

For fifteen months you have stood in the streets. In the rain. In the sun. In the cold. They said you would give up. You did not. They said you were terrorists. You are not. They said you were foreign mercenaries. You are not. Now they are sending police to your University.

And you will not give up now either.

To the citizens of Serbia, I say:

What happened today at the University of Belgrade is not an attack on me personally. This is an attack on the idea that there is anything in Serbia that the government cannot control. The University is the last institution still standing upright. That is why they came.

But the University does not stand upright because it has walls. It stands because it has people. Professors who refuse to remain silent. Students who refuse to be afraid.

Citizens who refuse to forget the sixteen lives lost in Novi Sad.

They can take the computers and servers. But what makes this University, honor, knowledge, truth, they cannot put in a box and carry out of the building.

On the investigation:

The University of Belgrade fully respects the rule of law. We support every lawful investigation. But what happened today has nothing to do with an investigation. It has to do with intimidation.

I repeat the call: we demand an independent investigation, and if necessary one under international supervision, into the circumstances of our student’s death. We demand forensic experts, not political operations. We demand truth, not punishment for those who seek it.

To the international community:

Today, police entered the University of Belgrade. This is being broadcast live as a political spectacle. This is not an investigation. This is a crackdown on freedom of thought.

I call on universities across Europe, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and all who believe in academic freedom: to speak out. Today Belgrade. Tomorrow any other university in Europe that dares to stand with its students.

I will conclude as I began - with the truth.

This government is not attacking the University because we have done something wrong.

It is attacking us because we have done something right.

We stood with the students. We stood with the truth. We stood with Serbia.

And we will continue to do so. With servers or without them.

Power lies not in malice, but in knowledge"

[Tomasz Piechal @TomaszPiechal]

🆕🎙️🇧🇦🇷🇸 Najnowszy odcinek podcastu 𝗦𝘇𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗻𝗶𝗲 jest już dostępny! Tym razem porozmawiałem z Martą Szpalą o tym, czy obecne napięcia na Bałkanach mogą wymknąć się spod kontroli i przerodzić się w coś więcej.

👉 W Bośni i Hercegowinie doszło do zmiany prezydenta Republiki Serbskiej. Odsunięty od władzy Milorad Dodik zaczął odwiedzać Moskwę i - z błogosławieństwem Władimira Putina - zagroził referendum oraz secesją. Czy rozpad Bośni jest możliwy? Jednocześnie w Serbii niemal równo rok temu wybuchły masowe protesty studentów, które trwają do dziś. Czy jest możliwa zmiana władz w Belgradzie?

✅ O tym wszystkim można usłyszeć w rozmowie z @mszpala, ekspertką ds. Bałkanów Zachodnich w @OSW_pl. Link do odcinka na kanale YT 𝗦𝘇𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗱𝗻𝗶𝗲 poniżej 👇

[OSW – Centre for Eastern Studies, Poland @OSW_eng]

US🇺🇸 sanctions against Serbian🇷🇸 oil company NIS

The sanctions imposed on NIS demonstrate the United States’ determination to reduce Russia’s revenues from oil exports and to curtail its influence in the Balkan energy market.

@mszpala has the details ⤵️
https://t.co/dziXO6ARjw

[OSW – Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich @OSW_pl]

„Sankcje wobec NIS świadczą o determinacji Stanów Zjednoczonych w dążeniu do minimalizacji dochodów Rosji z eksportu ropy i ograniczenia jej wpływów na bałkańskim rynku energetycznym” - pisze @mszpala. https://t.co/L6zSX0VQAD

[marta szpala @mszpala]

@Andric1961 Serbia, or more precisely governing elites, have done everything to cement Russia's monopoly position on the Balkan oil&gas markets (i.e. Turk Stream) due to personal gains harming energy security of the country and keeping prices high for consumers and just hope for status que

[marta szpala @mszpala]

It's better late than never...
After a series of statements from SNS accusing EP's members of orchestrating protest in Serbia #EPP finally reacted

[Adi Ćerimagić @adicerimagic]

“The EPP has not turned a blind eye to what is happening in Serbia,” Manfred #Weber, president of the #EPP, said this morning.

“This is why I will, as EPP leader, initiate a scrutiny process about Vučić and his party’s membership in the EPP family in the coming days.”

[OSW – Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich @OSW_pl]

W Serbii już ósmy miesiąc trwają protesty, które wybuchły po katastrofie budowlanej z 1 listopada 2024 r.

O aktualnej taktyce rządzących pisze @mszpala.

https://t.co/BMVcI15lKJ

[marta szpala @mszpala]

@KamilCaus Można już kupić mieszkanie w tej inwestycji, ale nie wiem czy bym ryzykowała 😉

[marta szpala @mszpala]

Jedne male, obične izbore 😉

[Aleksandar Ivković @ivkovic_al]

Istorijska ironija je moj žanr

[Aleksandar Ivković @ivkovic_al]

Istorijska ironija je moj žanr

[OSW – Centre for Eastern Studies, Poland @OSW_eng]

Students vs the system – protest strategies in Serbia

❗The Novi Sad railway station disaster on 1 November 2024, which claimed the lives of 16 people, provoked a strong public reaction.🇷🇸

More insight from @mszpala ⤵️
https://t.co/7VO9ZH0t9u

[OSW – Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich @OSW_pl]

„Niespełnienie żądań studentów pomimo wielomiesięcznych i masowych wystąpień ma utwierdzać społeczeństwo w przekonaniu, że jakakolwiek zmiana władzy w Serbii nie jest możliwa”.

Więcej w komentarzu 👉https://t.co/iTCmoRZHRS

i w podcaście 👇
https://t.co/HxC152aSdj

[OSW – Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich @OSW_pl]

„Trwające już pół roku masowe protesty, w których główną rolę odgrywają ruchy studenckie, uwidoczniły skalę frustracji społecznej wywołanej sposobem sprawowania władzy przez prezydenta Aleksandara Vučicia”.

O sytuacji w Serbii pisze @mszpala 👉 https://t.co/iTCmoRZHRS

[Sami Flamuri🇦🇺🇦🇱 @SamiFlamuri]

🇦🇱 PM Edi Rama calls out Montenegro’s bureaucracy for stalling the Buna/Bojana River bridge, a project to boost both nations. Time for action, MNE! 🏗️ #Albania #Montenegro #BunaBridge @MickeySpajic @ediramaal

[OSW – Centre for Eastern Studies, Poland @OSW_eng]

🇷🇸 Serbia’s new government: no concessions to protesters

🔵 The delay in appointing the new cabinet indicates that the President lacked a clear strategy in response to the nationwide protests.
🔵 More insight from @mszpala ⤵️
https://t.co/k2gkmH1CNl

[OSW – Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich @OSW_pl]

„16 kwietnia parlament Serbii zatwierdził skład nowej rady ministrów, na której czele stanął Đuro Macut. Niewielkie zmiany w składzie rządu wskazują, że władze będą zaostrzać kurs wobec trwających od listopada ub.r. manifestacji” - pisze @mszpala.

https://t.co/9mdlYXXp6v

[Andrzej Sadecki @ASadecki]

Serbian students today at the Heroes' Sq in Budpest. They travel by bike from Novi Sad to Strasbourg to raise awarness of the Serbian protests. Thx @mszpala for the tip 🙂

[OSW – Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich @OSW_pl]

Nowy #podcastOSW ⬇️

O tym, w jakim kierunku zmierza Serbia, czy rządy obecnego przywódcy przetrwają i jaki poziom osiągnęło niezadowolenie społeczne, mówi w @mszpala.

https://t.co/4mz0MIOCSN

[Gazela Pudar Drasko @Gazela_Pudar]

Absolutely utterly horrendous - thanks to the students in logistics that there were no victims last night.