It must be “the biggest demonstration in the history of Serbia”. Destabilized by the wave of citizen anger that followed the killings that left 18 dead may’s beginning, Aleksandar Vučić summoned his supporters to Belgrade on Friday night. Thousands of buses are requisitioned, sandwiches are provided and the participation of officials is “highly recommended”. A week earlier, a monster citizen demonstration invaded the streets of Belgrade. But for the media at the boot of the regime, the streets of the capital were almost empty that evening. Decryption of a propaganda system.
In Montenegro too, cases of violence involving young people or adults are increasing. In schools or in the streets, violence is trivialized. But is it really a phenomenon amplified by the media, as claimed by the authorities? One thing is certain: weapons proliferate in Montenegro, without a permit, and no one knows their exact number. The police have tightened controls since the Cetinje massacre in July 2022, but the campaign to disarm the population is still stalled.
Elections divide families in Istanbul
In Türkiye, after the first round of the presidential election, families are divided. Thus, the family of Nurullah, 28 years old. If he and two of his brothers support Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, their parents and the fourth brother have chosen Erdoğan. Chronicle of the life of an ordinary family in Istanbul, where two visions of Turkey oppose each other.
The ghosts of history
Are the social realities of today determined by the past, or rather by the image that we have constructed of this past? The geographer Béatrice von Hirchhausen tracked down these “phantom borders” that continue to haunt Romania. A way of questioning the meaning of the notions of “Balkans” or even “Central Europe”. Interview.
The scene of fierce battles between Ukrainians and Russians, Bakhmout, in the Donbass, was the short-lived capital of New Serbia and Slavo-Serbia in the 18th century. This experience is often mentioned by Serbian volunteers leaving to fight on the Russian side… Back to a little-known story.
Walking art and amorous ecstasy
European Capital of Culture in 2023, Timișoara, Romania, wants to bring street art to heel. The town hall of the capital of Banat intends to drastically tighten the conditions of activity of artists performing in the public space, while subjecting their performances to prior censorship. Artists are concerned about these surveillance methods.
Božo Vrećo, born in 1983 in Foča, drew strength from sevdah, traditional music from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which literally designates a “state of loving ecstasy”, to sing of dead love and find the strength to live. Interview with the man who defines himself as a “missionary of the soul”.