The police are making arrests, and the authorities are publishing the names of activists, former and current politicians, and other figures accused of instigating incidents during protests in Novi Sad. Masked assailants smashed the windows of City Hall, threw flares inside, and later clashed with the police. However, it remains unclear if any of those who actually caused the unrest by breaking windows and throwing fireworks at the police outside City Hall were truly apprehended.
Those detained include Ivan Bjelic, Misa Baculov, Goran Jesic, and Miran Pogacar. Although their culpability has yet to be proven in court, one thing is already certain – they are not the masked hooligans who vandalized City Hall, threw flares inside, pelted the police with stones, and did everything in their power to provoke more violence, trigger a stronger police response, and discredit the entire protest and all its participants.
Waiting for the right moment
Such groups and individuals are usually not found at the forefront of protests at the beginning. They tend to stay on the periphery or are absent when a rally or march begins. They wait for the right moment, as was the case on November 6th in front of City Hall in Novi Sad, and previously in Belgrade, outside the National Assembly or Belgrade City Assembly. When the crowd of demonstrators gathers in front of these institutions, and tension reaches its peak, young men dressed almost entirely in black, or at least dark colors that help them quickly blend into the crowd and disappear from sight, appear from within the mass. They rarely wear anything noticeable or brightly colored. They have hoods over their heads and mostly wear surgical masks, scarves, hats, or caps pulled down to their eyes, sometimes even balaclavas.
Opposition politicians and activists warned of potential provocateurs among the crowd in Novi Sad, claiming they are linked to the authorities, despite the predominantly peaceful demonstrators. On social media, videos of masked men holding sticks have even surfaced, but there are no police reports of any arrests.
No recordings of their arrests
Curiously, there are almost never recordings of the arrests of these masked and armed “demonstrators.” As for weapons, they mainly carry agricultural tool handles made from treated wood and always use flares. Interestingly, flares and sticks are the main weapons used in altercations between extremist fan groups, leading to reasonable suspicion, in police terms, that some of the inserted provocateurs come directly from fan groups. This is precisely the milieu from which people whom the regime likes to use are recruited, along with security personnel from various river barges (“splavs” – floating river clubs) and nightclubs, who are often fan members or connected with extremist fan groups.
The government does little to hide its use of these individuals’ “services”; at one point, a video surfaced showing Secretary-General of the Government of Serbia Novak Nedic with a group of these very people, colloquially referred to as thugs, as they exited a river barge in Pancevo during farmers’ protests.
Another group of provocateurs comprises members of extremist right-wing organizations who often come to protests “uninvited” and whose presence frequently ends in clashes with demonstrators or, if needed, with the police. During protests in June 2023, citizens identified “People’s Patrol” member Ilija Vuksanovic as a person who caused several incidents during protests following the mass shootings at Vladislav Ribnikar Primary School, Malo Orasje, and Dubona.
The aim of such groups is not only to incite incidents later exploited by pro-government media but also to intimidate citizens. Many people, upon seeing groups of “hooded men” behaving aggressively and preparing to incite violence, hesitate to join protests, effectively doing the authorities a double favor. This context explains a recent social media video showing Pavle Bihali, leader of the far-right organization “Leviathan,” receiving a large sum of cash from a man allegedly employed by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Nova writes.
Photo: Twitter
