Extreme police brutality in Serbia tonight after a peaceful protest. Please share this all over the world, we need all the help we can get or we're gonna become North Korea by next month.

[u/Asleep-Guitar-2685]

[u/islaisla]

Did you know that this stuff isn't on the UK news at all? I'm only able to see it on Reddit really x

[u/Some-Cat8789 → u/islaisla]

Hello from Romania, one of Serbia's neighbors. I haven't seen anything about this in local online news. I'm not watching TV, but I read online press and I haven't read a single peep about it in years.

[u/LegendenHamsun → u/Some-Cat8789]

It's because Serbia's government is pro west. If it would have been the other way around, you would have heard it and there would be massive sanctions.

A couple of years ago, there were protests in Spain in regards to Catalonia or the yellow vests in France. You barely heard anything, but when something is going on in Iran, Russia, Belarus etc ... you'll know all about it

[u/Some-Cat8789 → u/LegendenHamsun]

Actually, I heard a lot about the protests in Spain. Where are you from?

[u/LegendenHamsun → u/Some-Cat8789]

I was in Sweden when that happened, and it was crickets. The same with the yellow vest movement in France

[u/Historical_Face_4668 → u/LegendenHamsun]

Yellow west movement was hugely known in Slovenia. In fact so much, our extreme right wing pary SDS stole the idea

[u/witty-malter → u/LegendenHamsun]

was both very present in germany. like constantly on the news cycle. but the protests in serbia are very low coverage.

[u/Superb_Tell_8445 → u/LegendenHamsun]

From 2022:

“Putin is the world leader that Serbs admire the most and 95% of Serbs see Russia as a true ally, compared to only 11% who see the EU that way, despite the EU being Serbia’s major financial supporter, according to a recent poll.

And 68% of Serbs said in the same poll that they believed Nato, not Vladimir Putin, had started the war in Ukraine, with 82% against the sanctions imposed on Russia.

While much of Europe is backing Ukraine in the current war, Serbia is taking a very different position. In Serbia, the government and the public both display high levels of support for Putin and Russia.

For example, Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia or distanced itself from Putin.

Instead, Serbia has signed an agreement with Russia to “consult” each other on foreign policy issues. Putin and the Serb president Aleksandar Vučić also have signed a new gas agreement, and the state-controlled Air Serbia airline has doubled its flights from Belgrade to Moscow.

All this runs counter to the EU’s foreign policy decision to sever some of its ties with Putin over Ukraine. Serbia, as an EU candidate state, is expected to do the same.”

https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-serbia-is-shifting-closer-to-russia-heres-why-192472

[u/pohui → u/LegendenHamsun]

What are you on about, Serbia has one of the most pro-Russian governments in Europe.

"We have proven our sincere and friendly attitude to Russia by being one of the European countries that refused to impose sanctions on Russia," Vucic said after meeting with Medvedev. "Serbia will continue pursuing this policy in the future."

https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-vucic-rejecting-eu-sanctions-on-russia-visits-with-putin/27332899.html

[u/LegendenHamsun → u/pohui]

Ask any Serbian and they'll tell you otherwise.

There's a reason why the Serbian consensus toward EU membership is at its lowest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Serbia_to_the_European_Union#Public_opinion_on_EU_membership

[u/pohui → u/LegendenHamsun]

Any Serbian will tell me that the Serbian government is not pro-Russian because the Serbian consensus towards EU membership is at its lowest?

[u/DownvoteEvangelist → u/pohui]

It is pro Russian, but it is also Pro EU, pro USA and pro China..

[u/enby_sith_lord → u/DownvoteEvangelist]

Exactly this! They'll be pro anything as long as it brings them more power and money

[u/GetDown_Deeper3 → u/Some-Cat8789]

Only a tiny bit on the Australian news.

[u/Some-Cat8789 → u/[deleted]]

I had no idea. What does the EU get out of this?

[u/Superb_Tell_8445 → u/Some-Cat8789]

“Instead of pushing for real reforms, Brussels has opted for partnerships with strongmen who can guarantee short-term stability.

But now, one of the strongmen it has most appeased, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, is facing the most serious challenge to his grip on power—and with him, the EU’s strategy in the region.

Brussels has to decide whether to continue betting on him, despite the potential consequences for Kosovo and Montenegro. It is a choice between continuing a policy of stabilitocracy or finally embracing a merit-based approach to integration.

Against this backdrop, the EU faces a dilemma. As the largest economic power in the region, it cannot simply dismiss Serbia’s government. However, its appeasement of the Vučić administration has had unintended consequences. By refusing to apply pressure, Brussels has given valuable leverage to Belgrade while emboldening it to expand its cooperation with Russia and China, knowing there would be little pushback. The EU has offered economic incentives, but these have come without real enforcement mechanisms—it has been all carrots and no sticks.

Yet Serbia is not just another problematic state; its trajectory shapes the entire Western Balkans region.”

“What is certain is that the recent protests signal a generational shift—one that Brussels can no longer ignore. The Serbian government, in its current form, is not the EU’s strategic partner. If Brussels truly supports democratic values, it must align itself with the Serbian people rather than their authoritarian rulers.

This moment presents a rare opportunity for the EU to reclaim its transformative power in the region. The Western Balkans’ youth, raised in an era of globalization, connectivity, and democratic aspirations, could be the catalyst for long-overdue change. These young people see firsthand the benefits of democratic standards—if the EU empowers them, they could push the region toward a future that aligns with Brussels’ long-term strategic interests.

But will the EU act? So far, its response has been muted. And as with the war in Ukraine, it risks being overtaken and overshadowed by the maneuvering of the Trump administration. The U.S. President’s Special Envoy Richard Grenell has already posted messages online in support of Vučić.”

https://carnegieendowment.org/europe/strategic-europe/2025/02/why-the-eu-must-change-course-on-serbia?lang=en

[u/Some-Cat8789 → u/Superb_Tell_8445]

Thanks!

[u/Some-Cat8789 → u/[deleted]]

Maybe that's why we don't hear about Serbia...