Terzic interview in POLITIKA newspaper Belgrade Serbia
Monday July 14,2025

1-    What has been the level of coverage in the US media about student led protests in Serbia?

The level of coverage has varied with the size of the protests in Serbia. For example, the reporting about the demonstrations in Beograd and other cities on Vidovdan June 28 was very low. The New York Times, which has the most extensive international political coverage, only reported about it in a small paragraph. The Serbian protests are domestic news in Serbia which is neither a large or economically important country as far as the US media is concerned.

 

2-     Do you see any similarity between continuous protests against Trump in the U.S. and the student led protests against Vucic in Serbia? 

Not really. The protests against President Trump are not student led but rather led by a variety of unrelated groups each with a specific issue such as immigration policy, social welfare programs, climate change, gun control, abortion rights, LGBT issues etc.

The student led protests in Serbia are more focused on one topic, the current leadership cadre in Serbia beginning with President Vucic and now extending to all political parties and members of the Skupstina. The charge is political corruption.

The Serbian student’s calls for reform in Serbia are more similar to the Granger movement among farmers in the US in the 1880’s where all political parties were accused of being corrupt and controlled by special interests. The reforms proposed included the removal of party affiliations from the ballots and the introduction of “non-partisan” elections. Thus, today in the US many municipalities and states have “non-partisan elections for municipal officials, judges and school board positions.

 

3-     While the current protests in the US are not student led have there been student led protests in the US in the past?

Yes, during the US war in Vietnam between 1965 and 1973 student led organizations such as the National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam staged mass protests on college campuses, state capitols and in Washington DC. In 1967 a crowd of 35,000 attacked the US military headquarters at the Pentagon. A major demonstration was held for seven days at the August 1968 Democrat National convention in Chicago.  Among the issues for the students was opposition to the draft which affected all men over 18 years of age.

 

4-     Did the student led demonstrations in the US during the Vietnam War lead to a change in government?

No. A change occurred during the normal 1968 presidential election. During the 1968 presidential campaign the incumbent President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat and supporter of the Vietnam War, withdrew for the election leading to a victory by Republican candidate Richard Nixon, who was not popular with students.