1971 Also Began With Benign Student Protest

The government is behaving like Tito did at the time: it supports students a bit and political opponents impose the protests a bit.

ZAGREB, CROATIA – While many claim that Croatian citizens will never gather in as many numbers as they did in 1971, the latest events are indicating that Croatia is on a good path of having a general social uprising on its hands. What definitely helps citizens to connect faster and more effectively than “underground channels” and the distribution of flyers in past times, is the Internet. In only several days it is possible to organise protests with thousands, even dozens of thousands of people across Croatia via the Internet, especially the Facebook social utility site. 

Facebook Group Announces Anti-Government Protest

The Internet, as the currently strongest and fastest medium, which is available to almost everybody, gathered dozens of thousands of high school students who protested against the stat’s final exams, one e-mail gathered thousands of students who blocked classes at four universities in Croatia, while a photograph of Prime Minister Ivo Sanader as Grinch collected 58,000 people into a civil initiative against the governing structure and all politicians since Croatia’s independence.

There were many protests that were initiated via the Internet. The media knew of some, some they ignored, some they covered for days, but the irrefutable fact is that the Internet has gathered a much higher number of participants than had the information not been able to reach every citizen by the World Wide Web.

It was via the Internet that the exact date and hour was set when high school students would take

to the streets. Several dozen thousands of them managed to achieve their goal to postpone the final state exams for a year, with only some smaller incidents. Among the many civil initiatives, the one that stood out was “You tighten your belts, you thieving gang”, which began on Facebook as a response to PM Sanader’s “advice” that citizens should economise by tightening their belts. The initiative very soon spread to the streets of Croatian cities.

A clear message circled the Internet: all Croatians who had had enough of torture should take to the streets of their cities at 6pm on December 5. Thousands of people followed this initiative, but not because of posters posted up in cities because those who were against the protest would take them down or just paste “Cancelled” across them.

And again the popular Facebook jumped to the rescue where the organisers of the protests denied that the initiative had been cancelled and where people who thought alike joined them every day. E-mails, Facebook and students’ forums played a big role in gathering students in the current protest. Messages at students’ service machines were brief and clear: the protest begins at such and such time, be there.

Because of the speed and availability of information on the Internet, it will be ‘a piece of cake’ to join with unions, as well as various civil initiatives that provide their support to the students and vice-versa more and more and more openly each day.

Unions have already announced they are joining the students in their protest, just as students said they would take part in union protests across Croatia on May 12.

Students: We Will March With Workers to Cabinet

We should also not forget the protest by the civil association “You tighten your belts, you thieving

gang”, which is inviting everybody to gather on Zagreb’s central square at 5pm on May 1. We asked the Croatian People’s Party’s (HNS) Vesna Pusic, a professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, whether it could be expected a unification of all these groups and create a general social uprising. According to her, the disgruntlement will definitely continue if their demands continue to be ignored.

- It is certain that the situation in the country is absolutely sensitive and if the demands of those groups continue to be ignored, the protests will continue and deepen – Pusic is convinced.

She added that it is the government’s task to respond to the demands and deal with the problems and solve them.

- Such situations should not be taken lightly – Pusic said.

Her faculty colleague, Zarko Puhovski, agreed with her. He said he currently sees no possibility of a general social uprising given that the demands of the protesters are different, but he does not exclude the possibility of the government provoking such an uprising with its conduct.

- If the government continues to ignore the protests and requests, it will cause with its paradoxal and incomprehensive wrong reactions that the protesters unite, despite the fact they have different demands. The years 1968 and 1971 were not that long ago that they do not remember how a student protest held for benign reasons grew into something much more. Today the government is acting like Tito did back then; the support the students a bit, their opponents, that is, the opposition, impose the protests a bit. The only difference is that in 1971 it was ‘external forces’ who did that. Little time has passed not to learn from history – Puhovski concluded.

Split: Students Will Live At Faculty For Weeks

Sociologist Drazen Lalic says that what is currently happening in the country represents an isolated uprising which can be a catalyst for a general uprising, but he thinks that Croatian society is still very resigned, that is, passive.

- I think that it would be the best for everybody for the crisis to be solved in a legitimate, democratic manner, that is, at the upcoming local elections. In three weeks Croatians will get the chance to send a message about what they think about the governing structure and show that they want changes – Lalic said.

He said that it is very harmful for an “adolescent democracy” which Croatia has to advocate institutional solutions, when it is simple to show in legitimate democratic ways that changes are possible and that each one of us can start them by going to the polling stations.

- If (Zagreb Mayor) Milan Bandic fails in the elections now, then we know the wind of change has blown. If Kerum comes into power, then it is a voice of defiance or pride. It would be bad for Split, but it would be good for Zagreb. I repeat, in three weeks’ time, both students and unions will have a chance to send their message and voice their dissatisfaction – Lalic concluded.