Arsenijevic after the attack on Srebrenica: Empathy for the suffering of others is anti-patriotism in Serbia

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We are witnessing a spiraling escalation of violence in society, as a result of the systematic use of violence by the state using all possible mechanisms, writer and activist Vladimir Arsenijevic tells Radio Free Europe.

The day before, he was beaten by a group of young people in the center of Belgrade , at the site where a memorial for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide was to be held.

"I saw the hatred in their eyes, and it's the hatred that is instilled in our younger generations, which they learn within the education system, through the media, which is served to them at the Sunday lunch table," says Arsenijevic.

He states that the attackers left “451” and “People's Patrol” among the messages written on the plateau below Branko's Bridge.

Graffiti and posters in support of war criminal Ratko Mladic in Belgrade and Novi Sad

Messages of support for Ratko Mladic, former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide in Srebrenica and other war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's message that July 11 is a day of honor for the Bosniak victims of Srebrenica and that Serbia always deeply bows before the victims is "cynical" to him.

“Because, of course, he immediately adds 'unlike the others.' So, all that man could do, on all possible topics, was to remain silent once and for all,” says Arsenijević.

Vladimir Arsenijevic is the founder of the "Krokodil" association, which deals with the creation of literary, cultural and socio-political programs.

Activists from this association have repeatedly painted over nationalist graffiti in Belgrade.

“Being empathetic to the suffering of others, extending a hand of reconciliation, building some kind of relationship, is perceived here as betrayal, anti-patriotism, and something deeply anti-Serbian,” says Arsenijević.

He expresses his fear that it will be very difficult to create the social will to stop "self-victimization stories" in the future.

"And to look the truth in the eye and admit that crimes were committed and that someone in this society is responsible for them," Arsenijević believes.

Writer Vladimir Arsenijevic was attacked in the early hours of July 11, on the 31st anniversary of the genocide committed by members of the Army of Republika Srpska against more than 8,000 men and boys in Srebrenica.

Official Belgrade does not admit that genocide occurred in Srebrenica, but officials speak of a "terrible crime" and a "massacre."

Despite the decisions of international courts that genocide occurred in Srebrenica.

There is no way out of the spiral of escalating violence

REL: What does the attack you experienced at the place where you were supposed to pay homage to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide tell you?

Arsenijevic: We are witnessing a spiraling escalation of violence in society. This is a consequence of the systematic pumping of violence into our society using all possible mechanisms by the state. It is in the media, it is on social networks, it is in school textbooks, it is at Sunday dinner tables in families. On our walls, ultimately, which are disfigured by messages of hate. So, there is no way out of it.

The structure is spiral, we are moving downwards, but that proverbial story about reaching the end is long gone.

On the other hand, we in the Krokodil association, due to the activities we engage in, have long been the target of formal and informal far-right groups operating on the streets, whose main attackers are teenagers, practically, extremely young people. And this is an overlay of the hooligan mentality of recklessness, political instrumentalization for far-right purposes.

It is clear that there is a thread, a vertical that runs through the entire society, all its layers, and if you climb it, you will reach the highest peak, and we know very well who is there.

The attackers left a signature

REL: What did the attackers look like, did they have any visible signs?

Arsenijevic: Apart from the fact that they were young men without beards, exclusively men, mostly in black T-shirts and black hats… They didn't wear any special signs, but it's enough in itself when you see them like that in that group, to send very clear signals about who they are.

There, along with other messages written all over the plateau area under Branko's Bridge, they wrote "451 People's Patrol" and signed their names. So it's clear who they are.

REL: What did the police tell you, has anything been determined yet?

Arsenijevic: The police officers immediately came to the scene and I must say that they treated us very correctly. They did their job. The same thing happened at the police station, where we gave a statement. They really took up the case, now I mean the inspectors. I gave detailed descriptions of the perpetrators, they drafted a report.

But, based on our previous experiences, and they are not insignificant, I am somehow almost one hundred percent sure that everything will end there and that there will be no further action. And whether it is in the hands of the police, I don't think it is, the police are working under orders, and it all depends on that famous lack of political will.

REL: What injuries did you suffer?

Arsenijević: I'm bruised, my face is swollen, since this morning I look a bit like Quasimodo, I had a temporary artificial jaw, which is broken. I'm a bit bruised, I was also hit in the stomach and back.

I don't want to over-dramatize now, they didn't leave me lying unconscious on the ground. Maybe they wanted to, but it didn't happen.

As far as I'm concerned, it's not something I can't deal with. But of course, violence happens in different ways and it was only partly physical.

The second part was verbal and was also done through body language, and the third part consisted of threats that I was coming to an end, that I had to be careful where I went, that I was first on their list, and so on.

This is maximum intimidation, preceded by various activities, because they are the perpetrators, they have once again vandalized our entire space at the Crocodile Center with various messages.

That disgusting message on Knez Mihajlova Street “The only genocide in the Balkans was against Serbs” (in English) that we removed from there, I don’t know how many times, has been restored. And you saw that the city was filled with posters with Ratko Mladić’s hat and the inscription “General, thank your mother.”

So we're still spinning in this disgusting toxic circle and somehow we can't seem to find a way out. And I see it all as part of the threat that intensifies from that symbolic date.

'We are spinning in a toxic cycle'

REL: What kind of image has emerged from the place where you were attacked? Instead of the message "People remember people" and the number "8372", there is graffiti praising Ratko Mladic and mentioning Serbian victims.

Arsenijevic: Whether we like it or not, unfortunately, this is a very realistic picture of Serbia.

We spent last year working on a brilliant project, “It’s Not a Fairy Tale, But,” which is about reconstructing women’s peaceful activism during the 1990s and anti-war activism.

We were aware that, no matter how much we focused on the peace movements, on the black flag for Sarajevo, on the lighting of candles for Dubrovnik and so on, the image that left us was the image of reservists in a tank passing by, passing through New Belgrade towards the west of the country, which means towards Vukovar and Slavonia, and raising three fingers and citizens throwing flowers at them.

So these two images coexisted. We lived in one, but most of this society lived in the other, and unfortunately neither cancels out the other.

Now we see how these two views of reality are in constant friction.

We will continue to do what we are doing. I have received, I mean thousands of messages of support, not only personally, but precisely because of what caused this violence.

So, I think that in our country there are many, many people who would like to live in a normal environment, in friendly relations with their immediate and somewhat more distant environment, and not in constant war, friction, and antagonism of various kinds.

But, simply the methodology that people use because they are calm and behave normally cannot fully counter the rage used by the other side.

The message of the 'cynical' Serbian President

REL: How do you feel about the statement of the President of Serbia, who said that July 11 is a day of honor for the Bosniak victims of Srebrenica and that Serbia always deeply respects the victims?

Arsenijevic: That's very cynical, because of course he immediately adds "unlike the others." So I think all that man could do on all possible topics is to be silent once and for all. So I wouldn't comment further on that.

REL: How do you view the fact that the ambassadors of Germany and the Netherlands were present at the candlelight vigil last night in Republic Square for the victims of Srebrenica, but no one from Serbian government institutions was present?

Arsenijevic: This is also expected. We held our Krokodil festival a few days ago. Last year, we faced very serious attempts to hinder the festival, especially from the institutions of our country, and at the same time, with a media lynching carried out by those media outlets close to the Serbian state.

This year we received open and very strong support from the Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia, the Ambassador of the Netherlands, the Ambassador of Germany, the Ambassador of Ukraine. And they all came to the press conference, to the opening ceremony of the festival, which was phenomenal for us.

These are people who understand what we are doing. They understand that, unfortunately, there is always a minority environment in Serbia, which is in a hostile environment in its own country, doing something that is worth paying attention to and they try to support it with their presence. And why are there no representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Serbia, there is none, so there is none.

Krokodil has existed for 18, 19 years, we have absolutely no connection with the Republic of Serbia, we do not receive a single penny of support, we do not do anything together.

No empathy for others

REL: Why is there no willingness in Serbia to acknowledge what happened during the wars of the 1990s, even after three decades?

Arsenijević: Because we live in a fascist pigsty that continues. If we can take as the starting point of that deviation into the unknown, from which we have never found a way out, the emergence of Slobodan Milošević, then this is the year 1987 when he says "Nobody is allowed to beat you," in Kosovo. And now add just one more year and we are on the fortieth anniversary of that.

And that gives you the answer to everything. Our entire reality is in line with that monstrous ideology.

The people who fought against it are in the minority, exposed to constant pressure, and in our country there is simply no way for any different narrative, other than those who constantly self-victimize, self-centered, and pull their own hair out for their own fate, to penetrate the public.

Being empathetic to the suffering of others, extending a hand of reconciliation, building some kind of relationship, is perceived here as betrayal, anti-patriotism, and something deeply anti-Serbian, and this has continued for so long.

I looked at the faces of those young men who beat me… to me, it's still impressive, it's not like they're my children, I have much older children, they could practically be my grandchildren, and they had absolutely no problem hitting me in the face.

I too saw that hatred in their eyes, and it is the hatred that has been instilled in our younger generations, it is the hatred that is taught to them within the educational system, that is taught to them through the media, that is served to them at Sunday lunch on the table, and everything that was given to them, they drank with caution.

So, they are heirs to these ideas, I fear that it will be very difficult in the future to create a general social will to stop with these self-victimization stories and to look the truth in the eye and admit that crimes were committed and that someone in this society is responsible for them.