Statement of the Board of the Krokodil Association
This morning under Branko’s Bridge in Belgrade, Vladimir Arsenijević , president and co-founder of the Krokodil Association, and award-winning writer, was assaulted. He was ambushed by a group of twenty to thirty young men who threatened and beat him, and desecrated the area where a commemoration for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide was to be held today. This was done with graffiti glorifying convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić and the Army of Republika Srpska, who committed the genocide. The commemoration by the “People Remember People” coalition, which was to be attended by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, had to be canceled for security reasons. By doing so, the attackers prevented Serbian citizens from peacefully, publicly, and respectfully paying tribute to the murdered.
This attack is neither the first the only one of its kind. It is the latest in a series of assaults on Krokodil and all those seeking responsibility for the wars of the nineties, for the victims, and for the way we remember them, not only from others but also within their own society and the institutions of the Serbian state. For years, there have been attempts to discredit all those fighting for the truth about war crimes and the genocide in Srebrenica. Over time, these attempts have become increasingly radical and brutal – moving from graffiti and verbal violence on social media to the public space, as they brutally attacked Vladimir and his physical integrity this morning.
These squads never choose their victims independently and never act on their own – they are an extended arm of political structures on whose order they act. Today, they attacked Vladimir Arsenijević, who for decades through the work of the Krokodil Association and his personal engagement, has been a clear and strong voice against hatred, violence, nationalism, and war both in the former Yugoslavia and today, in Ukraine or Palestine. Attacking a man who creates space for books, dialogue, and facing facts is an attack on all of us who care about these values. We are rightly asking who will be next.
Such organized groups have been attacking students, citizens, and journalists on the streets and squares of Serbia for years. This attack is no different, and we expect it to be unequivocally condemned by all relevant social and political actors, regardless of ideological differences.
The Krokodil Association’s Board demands:
– Public condemnation of the attack and an immediate response from the competent authorities to find the perpetrators of this act, as well as an investigation into those who ordered and encouraged them.
– Immediate response from the relevant authorities to ensure the physical safety of Vladimir Arsenijević and all citizens gathering for the commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide and similar events.
– An unequivocal acknowledgment of the Srebrenica genocide by the highest state officials and a final break with the practice of denying, relativizing, and glorifying war criminals, as attacks like this morning’s are a direct consequence of such practices.
We stand firmly with Vladimir Arsenijević, the “People Remember People” coalition, and all those who, despite threats, continue to fight for truth, justice, and remembrance.
The Board of the Krokodil Association:
Dubravka Stojanović, Olga Manojlović Pintar, Olga Kavran, Boris Buden, Igor Štiks, Milena Berić
Peščanik.net, 13.07.2026.