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What is "Maidan" and how Moscow is investing in keeping Vucic in power...
" Maidan will not happen in Serbia " - this is one of the first reactions of the government against the opposition protests.
While citizens and the opposition demand the annulment of the elections due to serious irregularities observed by domestic and foreign observers, the government and pro-government tabloids once again compare the protests to the Kiev Maidan, accusing the citizens of coup attempts, civil war and labeling them traitors.
The term "color revolution" and the new Maidan have been used for years for any protest, as well as for the actions of the opposition and critics of the government in general. This interpretation aims to delegitimize the demands expressed in these protests, attributing everything to a conspiracy against Serbia organized from abroad.
Even the most massive protests after the mass shooting in May were described in pro-government media and statements by top government officials as a "color revolution."
After the December 17 election, on the first day of protests, pro-government tabloids accused Germany of meddling in the Serbian elections, labeling young people protesting outside the Republican Election Commission (RIK) as German agents. As previously reported by EWB, Germany's Deutsche Welle denied Serbian tabloids' claims of organizing the protests.
The president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, also spoke about the protests being organized abroad. Although he did not specify which country he was talking about, he said that the Serbian state authorities are preparing an "important letter about the influence and intervention of an important country in the electoral process of Serbia in the most brutal way".
On Sunday, while the protests were continuing, the Prime Minister of Serbia, in an appearance on the "Hit tweet" show, thanked the Russian services for informing the authorities about the protest. " Above all, the data was also provided to us by the Russian security service. When I personally shared this with some ambassadors, they accused us of spreading disinformation, lies, that we trust the Russian service and that all this is nonsense , "she said.
Warnings from Russia about a "new Maidan"
In discrediting the protests and the narrative that the West is destabilizing Serbia, state officials received support from Russian officials. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that activists "mobilized by various structures, financed and controlled from abroad" played a role in instigating the protests.
The Russian ambassador in Belgrade, Alexander Bocan Harčenko, also stated that the Maidan will not succeed and praised the Serbian service for the "very efficient" response to the attempts of such scenarios. The Belgrade newspaper "Politiko" writes that "Moscow has exposed the West's plans for Maidan in Belgrade".
What does "Maidan" really mean?
The term "Maidan" is used to describe the events in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014. Ukrainians also call it Maidan, the Revolution of Dignity.
The discontent of Ukrainian citizens at the time was caused by the decision of the then Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, not to sign the Association Agreement with the EU. Unlike Yanukovych, who wanted closer ties with Moscow, all Maidan participants supported close cooperation with Europe and opposed Ukraine's membership of the customs union with Russia.
Citizens led by opposition leaders rioted in Independence Square (Maidan), and the protests lasted day and night. Ukrainian special police responded to the protests with mass arrests and beatings of citizens. Such a reaction by the authorities caused even more massive protests and further escalation. The epilogue to the protests that began in November occurred in February when Yanukovych surrendered and signed an agreement with opposition parties to form a government of national unity that would hold elections.
However, Yanukovych fled to Russia, which soon annexed Crimea. Eight years later, Russia invaded Ukraine and the conflict continued.
While Maidan means liberation for Ukrainians, for the Kremlin, Maidan is an event in which the West overthrew the country's pro-Russian authorities. Such a view of the Kremlin on this event is present in the statements of high-ranking officials from Russia and Serbia, as well as pro-government tabloids and right-wing and pro-Russian parties in Serbia, such as "Zavetnici" and the movement of Branimir Nestorovic, who will decisive life for the formation of the government in Belgrade. Claiming that the protests are organized "from outside", the government is trying to discredit the protests of citizens and opposition parties. /Adapted "Pamphlet" from "European Western Balkans"
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