This is RÚV English Radio with Darin Adam, daily English language radio from Iceland's national broadcaster RÚV.Many of the interviews happen in English and occasionally we will replay them here.Today a group of Serbians living in Iceland have tried to set up a polling station which they could use to vote in Serbian elections.They say they found and secured a suitable local venue in Reykjavík that meets all technical and safety requirements to host the polling station.Despite having both the required number of voters and a fully prepared physical location,Serbian election authorities have still refused to approve the polling place.And according to official election rules in that country,if at least 100 people register to vote at an overseas location, an official polling station must be opened.The group also says that their extreme distance from Oslo in Norway, where the nearest Serbian embassy is located,makes it physically impossible for them to travel and exercise their basic democratic right to vote in the elections of their home country.My RÚV colleague Olof Ragnarsdóttir spoke to two of the community.He said,Hello, my name is Mladen Živanović. I come from Serbia.I've been in Iceland for now 10 years.I came here when I was 21 and I'm currently teaching mathematics at Landakottskóliand I'm completing my master degree in teaching mathematics.Hi, my name is Milos Petrović. I also come from Serbia.I work at the Háskóla Íslands.I'm a professor of mathematics at the University of Iceland and I'm an associate professor in sports science.I live in Iceland for the last almost 8 years.Maybe before we dive in, what brought you to Iceland?Well, since I came slightly earlier than Milos,I think it was 2016 because it's been a long time.So I mix up those two years.Is it 2017 or 2016?I came mainly because of the political and economical situation in Serbia.And I've been planning my studies abroad since probably high school,which was between 2012 and 2015.So then I started university in Serbia.I was studying mathematics and I was looking for opportunitiesto leave Serbia because I just didn't see the future there.There was a lot of corruption going on 10 years agoand it has become probably way, way worse.And after one year in Iceland, I signed up here at the University of Icelandto learn Icelandic at the course for Icelandic as a second language.And I really liked how Iceland is kind of structuredand how everything is way more calmand politics doesn't go into your joband into your everyday life, unlike in Serbia.So, yeah, and it's been quite a journey since 10 years ago.How about you, Milos? What brought you to Iceland?The work brought me to Iceland.I started working at the University of Iceland.I started in 2019 at the beginning of the yearand it was a short-term job.And soon after that contract finished, one year later,the COVID started.So, just finished my joband then it was pretty tricky to move anywhere else.So, with the family, we decided to stay here.It was partially willinglyand partially because the whole world was in the lockdown.We didn't have any other better choice.And it turned out it was a good decision, actually.Because since then, many positive things happened in our livesand Iceland just became our home.And after the COVID, I again started working at the University of Iceland.This time as a lektor or assistant professor in sports sciencewhere I gradually got promotion last year to associate professor.So, academically, I moved a little bit up.During the COVID, I was working together with Mladen in Landekottskóli.I was a sports teacher and teaching swimming.And so, basically, all these eight years, I'm involved in education,working both in school system and also as a coach.So, coaching athletics and strength and conditioning.So, these eight years, I'm heavily involved in sports.And in everything regarding the teachingthrough the whole vertically from primary schoolsto secondary schools to university.All right.Busy.Pretty busy.But cannot complain.Yeah.It's something that I like.Yeah.Then everything is much easier.Yeah.That's good.So, let me start with you have been involved, both of you,in you trying to set up a polling station for the upcoming elections.Can you tell me just a little bit about......about that process and how did it go, as you like?Who wants to start?I can start.So, I have to go a little bit back just for people to understandhow important these elections are in Serbia.So, these are parliamentary elections that we've been waiting for the last two years.Because the corruption in Serbia has kind of reached the very......very dangerous level.Almost two years ago, 16 people died from a cause of a platform falling on themon the railway station.And there was no one who was kind of like chargedand no one was responsible for that.No one was...They were just blaming that it just happened.And the whole cause of it is the work that has been done on the railway stationthat has been...Like, there's been a lot of corruption going on around opening,reopening and doing renovation at the railway station.So, because people got really pissed at what happened,they had to take it back.They had to take it back.They had to take it back.They had to take it to the streets.And thousands and thousands of people.At one moment, there was...If Milos can correct me, I think it was almost half a million people on the streets.And they demanded justice.And every time we would get close to some justice,they would...The people involved would get pardoned by the presidentor they would...disappearand someone else would come into their place.So, people started asking for electionsand I think that the ruling partyreally had to announce election at some point.It is interesting that they used electionsfor laundering money for a long time.So, because in the last two years,they didn't have the support of the general public,they couldn't or they didn't want to organize electionsthat would actually be profitable for them.So, what happens now is thatthere's a new political bodythat is formed by professionalsin the fields all across Serbia.We have doctors.We have...On that student list,there's engineers,there's teachersand respected individuals from the society.And they are all supporting this ideathat started from students,from the students that took it to the streetsbecause they had to block universitiesso that something would have been done.And they reached out to usto help us set up the pooling station.They reached out around six months agobecause they didn't knowwhen the elections were going to happen.And we were trying to seeif there's a need for a pooling station.After we talked to a lot of people and checked,we realized that we have more than 100 people interested.And in the law, it says thatwe need to have 100 people registeredand to also provide a placethat would host those elections,like abroad.But since Iceland is connectedto the embassy in Oslo,the Serbian embassy in Oslo,we cannot obviously just fly there and votelike we could,but it's a lot of expenses.And that is why there is this article in the lawthat says that if 100 people signand send a request,it should be opened.Yeah, and Iceland is kind of geographically,I mean, it's an island,so it's more difficult for you,to go to Oslothan if you're living in Sweden,it would be easier.But yeah, it's pretty clearthat Iceland is isolated, kind of.And can you tell me, Mílas,how did the process go?Like, how did you go about itand what was the outcome?The whole process went according to the lawand according to all the rules of fair play,political game,that, as Mladen said,we have found more than 100 individualswho were willing to vote in Icelandand we registered themand we did everything legallythat was supposed to be.So we sent official requeststo the embassy in Oslo,but then the election committee in Serbiajust made a decisionthat there won't be voting in Iceland.So all the voters were registered.Who actually showed initiativeto vote in Iceland,they just get answer no.So no voting in Iceland,which means that at that point,all of them already signed outfrom the voting list in Serbiaand they registered in Oslo.And that means that everyone interestedwas supposed to fly to Osloin order to vote,which, living in Iceland,we don't have any other mean of traveling,so we cannot take a bus,or train,or car.So the only way is flyingto the embassy in Oslo.One of the reasonsthat probably iswhy we did not getright to vote hereis that the governmentand the ruling peopleare very much awarewhat the people,Serbs living abroad,think about that.And we clearly showed up,we expressed our feelingsand we expressedthat we supportstudent representativesand that was the main reasonwhy it was shut down.It's not that something would changethe 100, 200, 300 peoplevoting in Iceland,but the message would bereally very strong.So that was definitely the reasonwhy voting in many placeswould be,or it won't happen.The first reasonthat was announcedthat according to the rules,first thing that has to be satisfiedor first conditionis that place has to be safe.And then we come to the next solutionthat conclusion isthat Iceland is not safe.So that was one of the,if you just add two and two,that is what it comes as an outcomethat places like Switzerland,like Norway,like Sweden,like Icelandwere,considered not safe for votingdespite reachingaccording to the all,to the all metricsin the past decades,Iceland is one of the safest placesin the worldas we all know.And officially it was,that was one of the reasonsand it is what it is.So now the peopleare a little bit trapped.They cannot vote in Serbiaand they also cannot vote in Iceland.So now a couple of hundredsof votes are trapped.In between nowhere.And then the same is happeningall across the worldthat people are just,many voting places are shut downin Canada,in the United States,in Australiaand so on and so on.Another reasonthat is,that idea is thatit's absolutelythat never ever happenedis that the elections abroadwere supposed to beat the same timeas voting in Serbia.Which consideringthe time zonescomes to pretty tricky situationwhich means thatfor example in New Yorkor placesin that time zonepeople should go to voteone in the morning for example.In some other placeslike in Japanthey were also supposed to votein the middle of nightand just by law in Japanit's not allowed to gatherin the middle of night.But another thing isactually what is the reality behindis that for exampleif in Australiapolling stations are closedthey would already comethe first resultsearly morning in Serbia.So you go to vote in Serbiaand you wake upand you already hear thatthe ruling party lost in Australiaand then how the time zones are movingruling party would probablyI'm 100% surelose in Japan,lose in China,lose in Indonesia,Malaysiaand so on and so on and so on.So basically that is the effectthat would haveon their votingthat is more dangerousrather than10, 15, 20,000 votesin reality.So absolutely somethingthat never ever happenedat least not in history of Serbiais thatthat voting has to happenat the same timelike in Serbia.A little bit about these elections.They're very, very importantat least according to everythingI've readand like they're talked about likethis might be historical.Why are they so important?These elections are very importantbecause this is I thinkthe only opportunityfor Serbian politicsto turn back to democracyand to bring backthe voices of people.We were just talkingbefore we entered the studio herethat eveneven the adsthat opposition groupsare makingare not shown on TV.So people that watch TVin Serbiathey cannot even seeoptions.They can only seethe ruling partyand they can only seea ruling partytrash talking abouteverybodywith a different opinion.So I am sure thatifif we do not usethis opportunitythey willuse all their powertocompletely take offthe rights of free speech.So I waschatting with one groupthat was doing some activismin Belgradeand I told them thatit's a little bit tone deafto doin Octoberin 2026any activism forany type of liberationwhen we havethese difficultelections happeningbecause we shouldlaser focus on thatbecause any type ofactivismwon't be allowed.Will that beecologicalorhuman rightsor animal rightsor anything?That's not going to be possiblein a couple of yearsbecauseas we knowthese partieswant to have full control.They're not going to allow peopleto have a choicenext time.So if the student listbutwe are very confidentwe are followingthelike the general publicandwe are confidentthattherace is going to bevery tightbut they willwin.The former presidentnow wants to beprime minister.Well thecitizen Vuciclet's call it like thatbecause he's not president anymorefirst started to beminister in 1997.So the next yearwe're marking30 yearsof being in powerand doing basicallynothing elsejust switching fromone position to anotherfrom being ministerprime ministerpresidentpresident againand nowbecause the lawdoesn't allow to be voted againinstead of changingthe constitutionhe wants againto go back to be ministerprime minister.Whythe questionwhy people voteseveral optionssome of themare just simplybrainwashedbecauseon the TVyou cannot see anything elseall the televisionand all mediaare absolutely corruptedand the only thingyou can seeis the samepersonshowing upagain and again.The second thingis that many peopleare just blackmailedsimply blackmailedbecauseif they don't votefor that partythey're going to lose the jobsthen if they don't votefor that partyand if they don't bringa certain amountof voters20, 30, 40members of the familyof the communityagainthey're going to losethe votesand thenlet's don't forgetthatbig amountof votesare just simply stolen.There is a perfect waydeveloped on thatand it's calledBulgarian Trainwhere the voterjust bringsto the polling stationalready circledthe nameand then it putsit in the boxwhile the paperthat receivedbrings outwhere somebodyis circling the names.Another thingis that they're supposedto take a photosthat they votedso they need to puttheir IDnext to the namethat isof coursethe presidentor somemember of hiscriminal organizationand thenthey just need tocircle itand to take the photowith their IDso they provethat they votedandsoit'svery very complexso it's very developedit's notit's not something newso the same peopleare doing thatfor yearsand yearsand yearsand yearsand thenof coursethousand timesrepeated liebecomes the truthand then peoplejust don't haveany other optionbuthere we cometo the young peopleyoung peopledon't watch TVyoung peopledon't watchthey don't readthe newspapersbecause the newspaperssay the sameall the TV stationssay the sameyoung peopleare on social mediaand that is somethingthat the governmentand the presidentcannot controlso they cannotcontrol Twitterthey cannot controlInstagramthey cannot controlFacebookso the messagestravel acrosson another levelso they don'tabsolutelyrely on thatbecause they knowthe informationgoing thereis justit's purely garbagesothey don'tfollow on thatbut one thingthat they cannotcontrolare social mediaso anythingthat isgloballyit's absolutelyit gives the freedomto saythe real situationthen we havea situationthat peoplelet's saythird age peopleretired peopleand so onthey're not onsocial mediamostlyso they don'tsee these thingsthe only thingthey turn on TVany channelthey putit's the same thingthey go to buynewspaperswhatever isoffered thereit's againstrictly controlledso the situationis pretty trickyandthere won'teven belike a programwhere everyonecomes togetherto debatenotnot reallythey're alsousingthose debatestoto spreadliesso there wereorganized debatesthat were alsonot on thenational TVsbut thenthey're usinglike if someoneis showingfrom the rulingpartythen they'retrying tobring somethingbad aboutthe otheroppositionand it's usuallya lieor it's usuallysomething that iscompletely irrelevantto the topicthere was avery heateddebate abouteducationcouple of weeksago withnow actingpresidentandtheyalmostI don't thinkthey spentfive minutesout of thatone hourtalking abouteducationand plansbecausethat personwas keepon bringingsome dirtthat shewanted to useso that peoplethat watchthat TVthat is actuallythe only placewhere you can seeother optionsthan the rulingpartyand yeahso she wastrying topersuade thosethose voterson that TVso it wasn'ttheir aimwas not totalk abouteducationbecause theyalso didn'timproveeducationat alland just toadd theformer president14 yearsavoided anykind ofconversationwith anyopponenton thenational TVor anywhereelsethere wereno debatesit was onlyhim talkingand thentalking abouteverythingfrom weatherto gastronomyto whateverglobal politicsso 14 yearshe avoidedcompletelyany kindof dueltalking tosomeoneand rightnow whenthere isa personit's noteven theleaderof thestudentlistit's justthe firstpersonon thelistverysuccessfulfamousdoctorvery openmindedguyand soonand soonsuddenlythepresidentinvitedhim14 yearslaterbut sincethe guyis aprofessionalmedicaldoctorhe saidno Ihave nothingto talkto theformerpresidentI canjust helphim as amedicaldoctorbut nothingelseso thereis notime fordiscussionwe askedthat for14 yearsand therewas absolutelyby numbersand letterszerodiscussionsso rightnow it'stime tofocus onthe electionson thespreadingthe newssothatmedicaldoctoris onthe bikecyclingall aroundSerbiashowingpeoplethat isapproachableso nothree fourfive hundredguardslike theformerpresidentthat youcannotapproachyou cannotsayanythingno justone ofusand thatis themainimportantmessagefrom thestudentmovementthatthe personis notrelevantthe functionnothe systemis somethingthat weneed tochangeso itdoesn'tmatterifMladenis tomorrowpresidentor primeministeror whereverwhich Iwishreallywe needsomesomebodylike himbut themost importantis thatthe systemhas toworkregardlesswho isin powerso namesare notrelevantideallywe wouldnot knowwho islike rightnowI don'tknow whois somemaybeministerof educationin Icelandor somethinglike thatand thatis somekind ofmodelthat wereallylikeand thatisthe systemjust worksregardlesswho isthereor whois therulingor wedon'tfeel itso muchso lifegoes onand themostimportantthingis thatshould beis thatthe poweris changeableso rightnow youhave powerwhen youfinish thatyou goback toyour workwhateveryou weredoingbeforeyou'reinbusinessyou'reinschoolyou'reinwhateverinsportsinsomethingsoinsteadofjustfocusingonacultofonepersonandthenjustonepersonbeingonthepedestalasnumberoneandwejustseeonepersonlikewehaveinallthesedictatorshipcountriesthisstudenthowtheymanagedtogetthemessageoutbecauselikeyousayalmostallthemediaorallthemediaisunderthecontrolofthegovernmentsotheyareyoumentionedtheguybikingaroundthat'swhatthey'redoingrightjustgoinghousetohouseandit'sveryorganizedyessotheyhadveryinterestingcampaignstheyevensubmitteddocumentstoStrasbourgaboutsomeofthecasesandinjusticesthatwerehappeninginSerbiaandtheywerebikingallthewaythereweknowthatevenNovakDjokovicthetennisplayerhesupportedthemandit'sveryIthinkfreshenergyandIthinkthateveryoneissoproudofthembecausetheywentandtheydidthejobtheywerepreppingfortheseelectionssincetheycontactedusinFebruarybutthatwaswhenthegroupfordiasporawasmadesotheircampaignshaveverynicemessagesandwealsohavetorealizethatithasn'tbeeneasybecauseeverytimethattheyareonthestreetsbecauseprotestsinSerbiadidn'tstarttwoyearsagoIremember10yearsagowhenIleftthattherewereprotestswhentherewasecologicalcatastropheinSerbiatherewasaprotestduringCOVIDsothiswasnottwoyearsagothiswasalongtimeagoandtherewasalwayssomekindofbrutalitybecausetheregimesendspeopletointimidatethemandtophysicallyattackthemwhichobviouslywouldscaresomepeopleawaystudentsarenotscaredanymoreandthere'sobviouslyverybravepeoplethatwerethatinjureda lotofphysicallikefeelingsphysicaldamagethere wasa girlthat wasran overby asupporterand thenthe presidentpardonedthat girlsothe girlthat wasdrivingsoallthosethingscome toa conclusionthattheyhave beenmore thanbraveintheseyearsand theydeservetohavea chancebecauseevenwhentheytakepowerafterOctoberwearegoingtokeepthemaccountablebutweknowthat250peoplethat areon thelistarespecialistssofromeconomytoeducationandrespectedindividualsforexamplethere'soneactorthatisandproducerthat ison thelistbecauseeverysinglefieldofworkhasbeeninfiltratedwiththerulingpartytheactorshavetroublegettingintothemovieindustrybecausetheydonotsupporttherulingpartyorthey'renotvocalenoughsoitgoessofarandwealsohadacaseinMaythatonepersonfromthatisobviouslyasupporteroftherulingpartyandworksasacoordinatorforSerbianschoolsthatworkoutsideofthecountryandshecameheretointimidatemebecauseIshowedsupportforstudentsandinMaystudentgroupwasnotapoliticalentitysothenwehadtolikeIhadtoaskinformationfromSerbiawhichIamallowedtoaskanditturnedoutthattheministerofeducationinSerbiaspecificallyaskedthatwomantocomeandintimidatemyclasshereinIcelandfor15studentsandnoonedidanythingthere'snothingthatIcandoaboutittherearestudentsthatareupsetandyeahsoitgoesevenoutsideofthebordersofSerbiaIwanttoendwithaskingyouaboutareyouhopefulordoyouthinktheseelectionswillreallybringachangeI'mabsolutelypositiveaboutthatevenasIsaidincoupleoflivebroadcastsononesidewehaveeverythingthatisthemostsuccessfulfromSerbiaathleteslikeNovakDjokovicallthecoacheseveryoneallthesuccessfulpeoplefromSerbiawhileontheothersidewehavebasicallyacriminalgangsoIabsolutelyhavenodoubtsaboutthatandasauniversityprofessorIneedtosupportstudentsthat'smymissionIliveforthatandIbelieveinyoungIbelieveincriticalthinkingIbelieveinallthesevaluesthatwestudiedhardforandthatwebelievethatpeopleinSerbiawillrealizeallthatandevenifthingsdon'tchangerightnowIthinkthatthingsaregoinginverygooddirectionsoifnotthiselectionokbutthenextonearedefinitelytherebuttheyneedtounderstandthatthisissomethingthatcannotbeavoidedsothisisjustahugewavecomingandabsolutelyit'sgoingtohappenbecauselikeawaterwaterwillfindawayalwaysinthesamewaystudentswillfindtheirwayandtheknowledgeandtheloveandtheyouththeywillfindtheirwaytothejusticeandtomakeSerbiaagainreallynormalsocietyandsomethingthatwecansayproudlyalthoughwearethebestambassadorsofSerbiaforfreebutsomethingthatwealwayshighlighteverywhereyesthatisagainonegoodandsettledcountryI'ma littlebitscaredandIthinkthatthere'sa lotofreasonsforthatandwhenIreflectnowthroughthisinterviewhowmuchstudentshaveachievedandhowbravetheywereandweareobviouslynotinthefrontlinebutwearetryingtohelpthemasmuchaspossibleandIwasastudentinSerbiaandIhavebeenastudenthereinIcelandsoIdoslightlyfeellikepartofthathugegroupandIwishIcouldhavehelpedmoresogoingbacktothefreshnessthatthey'rebringingwithhowthey'reactingandwhatthey'representingandtheyalsowhenitcomestotheirideasandhowtheywanttoimprovetheeducationhowtheywanttoimprovetheeconomyandhowtheywanttoimprovetherelationshipwithothernationsandeverythingtheywanttobeaccountabletheydon'tjustsaywe'regoingtoimproveandbringthismuchmoneytheyareveryrealisticandtheyhavemadeuseoftheirstudiesandthey'vebroughtexpertstotakethepositionsthataresupposedtoberunbyanexpertsoI'mveryconfidentthatwe aregoingin therightdirectionthankyousomuchMiljusandNatinforyourtimethankyouthankyousomuchthereismorefromRÚVEnglishwithallthenewsfromIcelandinEnglishatruv.isslashEnglishRÚVEnglishRadioisadailyEnglishlanguageradiofromIceland'snationalbroadcasterRÚVRÚVandthecentreoftheworldinIcelandandDenmarkinSwitzerlandandintheUnitedStatesandintheUnitedStatesandinSwedenfor15years
