Jerkov: Harassment of Severina at the Border is an Attack on Freedom of Speech

The harassment of Croatian singer Severina Vučković and her four-hour detention at the border between Croatia and Serbia is just the latest in a series of proofs that Serbia is taking on the shameful role it had in the region during the 1990s.

Severina Vučković is a woman who bravely fights against chauvinism, advocates for confronting the past, and uses her art and activism to build bridges among the countries of the region. Because of this, she has long been a target for all those who thrive on division, cultivate hatred, and profit from it. The Serbian Orthodox Church has been campaigning against her for a long time, and recently, due to her political views—particularly those on the genocide in Srebrenica and her support for Montenegro—she has come under fire from regime-controlled media in Serbia. This de facto violation of Severina Vučković’s right to work because she holds opinions that the regime does not like demonstrates that our country is led by people who do not recognize the rulings of international courts, who are reinstating the criminal offense of verbal delict, and who will ruthlessly retaliate against anyone who is politically inconvenient for any reason.

This is an attack on freedom of speech and a specific message to the citizens of Serbia, especially those of Croatian nationality, that there are rules in Serbia and that the regime determines what is allowed and what is not. Vučić’s regime has drawn a clear line that nothing will be tolerated except the level of war politics of the 1990s and the “culture” of Baja Mali Knindža. Serbia remains a lonely province and an isolated island in the Balkans with high walls raised against everything Western and European. This will continue as long as the autocratic regime remains in power.

Dr. Aleksandra Jerkov

Member of the Executive Board

Regional Academy for the Development of Democracy

Novi Sad, August 26, 2024.