The fake news I am referring to here is the accusation that EXIT did not support the student protests. But there is only one truth: EXIT has publicly supported the students from the beginning of the protests in multiple ways, despite pressures that such an unequivocal stance could lead to the festival’s shutdown due to the loss of government support and, consequently, the disappearance of over a hundred jobs for people engaged in EXIT throughout the year.
Unfortunately, the motives of those who launched attacks on EXIT have nothing to do with students and their demands. These attacks are a personal vendetta against the festival, which was directly announced to us long before the tragedy on November 1st. In reality, they represent a manipulation of student energy and a distraction from their demands—demands that, I will reiterate for the umpteenth time, both EXIT and I personally fully support.
But let’s go step by step.
EXIT first made a public statement on November 4th regarding the tragedy that struck our city, calling for the resignation of the responsible minister and full accountability for the collapse of the canopy—a demand that would later become one of the key demands of the students. A large majority of EXIT’s team members have participated in marches and other gatherings from the very beginning, and, unlike in many other companies and organizations, they have always had full freedom to share their participation with the world. After the faculty blockades began, EXIT provided support not only through food, sleeping bags, and other necessities but also repeatedly expressed its support for the students on Instagram and the festival’s website, while at the same time condemning violence against them and other citizens. The EXIT team also participated in last Friday’s general strike, standing at Slavija, Autokomanda, and on the Boulevard in Novi Sad yesterday. There are hundreds of thousands of witnesses to all this—followers of EXIT’s pages.
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While some public figures received applause for posting a single Instagram story and while almost all other music events in Serbia remained silent on the protests and were not even mentioned by critics, EXIT was harshly attacked despite doing significantly more. By saying this, I do not intend to point fingers at others in the music industry. As someone whose first activism was initiating the 1996 student march from Novi Sad to Belgrade for the ideals of freedom in our society, I strongly believe in the right of every individual or organization to have their own opinion, without fear of being insulted or labeled for it. That is one of the fundamental principles of a free society—anything else leads us down the path to a new totalitarianism. I bring this up as yet another piece of evidence that reveals the true motives of those behind the attacks on EXIT.
One particularly malicious claim was the false accusation that EXIT “set up the stage in Jagodina,” which is an outright lie and not an activity EXIT is involved in at all. As a result of these repeated lies, mass hysteria erupted on social media, and people from the EXIT team—many of whom actively participated in and supported the protests—were subjected to harsh insults of the most vulgar and primitive kind.
Could EXIT, as a festival born from student protests, have done more? That is absolutely a legitimate topic for discussion. One perspective is that EXIT could and should have done more, while another is that a stronger association between EXIT and the protests—beyond the repeated shows of support—would have been misinterpreted as an attempt to exploit the students for the festival’s self-promotion. For example, one of the main criticisms was that the EXIT flag was not present among the students, while the students themselves repeatedly emphasized that organizational and political symbols and flags should not be brought to the protests they were leading. We will gladly bring the EXIT flag—only if and when the students ask us to.
The idea behind the student protests is to build a better and fairer society, but this can only be achieved through truth, not by spreading fake news and engaging in witch hunts. The student protests nearly 30 years ago succeeded because they were driven by humor and smiles, not by rage and hatred. I understand how difficult it is to control emotions in the face of daily violence, especially given the tragedy that sparked it all. However, this is the only path to success.
I encourage students to preserve the purity of their cause and fight for their dreams, without allowing any organization or individual to exploit them for personal gain. And as they live through one of the most significant moments of their lives, I hope they channel their energy into projects that will continue to transform our society for the better in the decades to come. We are here for them.
Dušan Kovačević, Founder & CEO of EXIT Festival Group
