The violence at the Zemun exhibition is the continuation of a series of unauthorized extremist outbursts – Society

The hooligans’ intrusion into the “New Age” comic exhibition in Zemun, after the perpetrators were threatened with death, is part of a series of outbreaks by nationalist groups on the streets of Belgrade in the previous days.

A group of about ten young people, wearing masks, black firecrackers and hoods, broke into the exhibition last night as part of the “New Age” festival, fired tear gas and destroyed the works on display.

Although the police station is located a few hundred meters from the “Old Captaincy” where the exhibition is taking place, and the police of the police station can see the entrance to this area, despite the fact that some of the authors previously reported to the police that They received death threats, the thugs managed to destroy the exhibition and the police only arrived later to conduct an investigation.

It is also symptomatic that this is the third outbreak of extremist groups at public events in Belgrade in the past seven days, which happens without authorization.

Something similar happened last week when Miša Vacić, the leader of the Serbian right, and several associates tried to stop an exhibition on war crimes at the Cultural Decontamination Center.

The fight with the nationalists also occurred during the candle lighting for Oliver Ivanović, when a woman clashed with Simo Spasić, the president of the Association of Families of Kidnapped and Murdered Kosovo. Last weekend a concert of neo-Nazi groups in Belgrade was announced, but it did not happen.

The artist and president of the Association of Fine and Applied Artists of Zemun, Anita Bunčić, who was on duty at the Stara Kapetanija Gallery at the time of the incident, told Danas that the attackers flew in very aggressively, that the police reacted late, but points out that they have now sent protection. However, they failed to save the exhibition.

– This morning the head of the Zemun police station called me and told me that he was shocked by what happened and asked me if we were still working or closed. I replied that we were working and he promised to send the police during our working hours to protect those of us on duty. As for the exhibition itself, it now seems remodeled, apocalyptic, and it is interesting that its name is now The Last Age, a truly brutal illustration of this time, Bunčić concludes.

Ivana Djordjevic, curator of the Stara kapetanija Gallery, told Danas that the whole event aroused different emotions for the festival organizers and the exhibition authors: “from disbelief, fear for their own safety, to total disappointment in the system in which the work of curators and artists begins to belong to high-risk occupations. “, says Djordjevic.

She would never have thought that anything related to that exhibition was moot until a whole conglomerate of accusations appeared on social networks in which they connected, as she puts it, with “Satanists, 5G network, Freemasons, Soros and others.”

– The first comments came from the Facebook page Nacional feministi Srbije and the second from the Twitter account Jasenovac. I have a feeling that all the anger, all the people, for all reasons, came together and focused on a cartoon, which is completely irrelevant to the exhibition itself. In the end, that drawing remained intact, says Ivana Djordjevic.

Milica Ivić, the organizer of the New Age festival, tells Danas that the worst thing for her is that the original copies were destroyed.

– These engravings are important because they were made a long time ago, because “Boys” have not worked together as a group for a long time. Now, the question arises how the value of the destroyed material is treated. Who can assess that damage? Ivic wonders.

Goran Rajšić, one of the authors, points out that all the exhibitors are shocked by the attack on works that have no political connotation, were created a quarter of a century ago and were not as criticized then as they are today.

– This is the basic misunderstanding of black humor, which was taken out of context and presented as Satanism, anti-Serbianism. It’s amazing that we had more freedom in the 1990s when anarchy reigned. It is obvious that this attack was organized, but we have no evidence of that. The attack came as the hooligans received support on social media to spread fear and nationalism. It is ironic that someone supports violence against the perpetrators because of alleged violence they are spreading, Rajšić concluded. He recalled that the authors denounced the death threats they received to the police in the previous days, but that they did not receive any protection.

– I am afraid that this will not stop with us and that we will live in an atmosphere that is dangerous for everyone, Rajšić emphasized.

Predrag Koraksić Koraks, a cartoonist for the Danas newspaper, whose works were often the target of attacks, in an interview with Danas points out that everything that is happening in the capital in the previous period is symptomatic.

– Humor has always been the most serious danger for this government. Now it has also become a danger to extremists. I have the impression that an order has been given to cover up and hide the fact that we have lost access to the European Union and that we are moving further and further away from that path. That is why this is happening in CZKD and in Oliver’s memory, to forget us and distract us from important things, concludes Koraks.

The comic book exhibition destroyed by the hooligans shows a retrospective of the works of the alternative comic group “Boys” of the 90s, whose members, in addition to the cartoonist “Blic” – Marko Somborac, who was the first to inform the public about the exhibition, they are Goran Rajšić, Nikola Vitković, Andrej Vojković and Dalibor Novak. This exhibition of underground comics caused a storm of negative reactions in the public due to the drawing “Kenjkavac” that shows a baby with an ax to the head.

NDBG: The government tolerates fascism

The Let’s Not Drown Belgrade initiative warns that the savage destruction of a cartoon exhibition within the “New Age” festival is an unacceptable phenomenon in our society. They condemned the “frivolous and disinterested” behavior of the police.

“By not reacting, the government and institutions tolerate the growth of fascism in society or even encourage it through direct or indirect financial and moral support to shadowy organizations and individuals, but also through official politics and the voices of pro-government media, “they said in a statement.

Obradović: Dveri does nothing secretly as a government team

When asked if Dveri has something to do with this attack, as some suggest, Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic replied that such accusations are very offensive to him. “We have never faced threats and violence, it does not suit us as a Christian family political movement. We do nothing secretly as a team in power. “The ruling regime has an interest in provoking incidents and diverting public attention from the major crime and corruption scandals at the top of the government,” Obradović told Danas.

PSG seeks internal police control

The Free Citizens Movement condemns the attack on the comic book exhibition that took place last night in Belgrade, and demands that the police urgently find and bring to justice all participants. We also demand that an internal control procedure be initiated against the competent members of the Ministry of the Interior who did not react to the threats from the organizers, and did nothing to ensure this exhibition.

NKSS: Destruction of creativity

The Association of the Independent Cultural Scene of Serbia (NKSS) strongly condemned the attacks on the Stara Kapetanija gallery and the destruction of the exhibition of the Momci comic group, as well as the lynching of the media on the occasion of the work of Zlatko Pakovic and the violent obstruction of the exhibition “Kapija – cultural decontamination.” In just a few days, we are witnessing drastic physical attacks, threats, humiliation, destruction and defamation of critical art work and creativity in Belgrade, “said the NKSS in a release.

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