Veran Matic, Chair of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) Board of Directors, said that over the past year and a half, as many as 35 attacks on journalists have been recorded in the so-called Caciland. He added that the former president, Aleksandar Vucic, bears the greatest responsibility for the violence in the country.
In an interview with N1, Matic noted that the trial for the assault on Insajder journalist Natasa Mijusković began on Monday, and that the defendant, Jelenko Pijevac, was highly aggressive during the proceedings.
“He went after the Insajder television cameraman again, demanding, ‘Why are you filming me? Do you have permission to film me?’ It was very aggressive, just like how they act out here whenever cameras show up. In his testimony, he stated that Caciland – meaning this area here – is off-limits to ‘the scum from N1 and Nova television stations. Following a warning from the judge, he stopped using that term later on,” Matic said during an interview with an N1 reporter in front of the makeshift camp of Vucic supporters in Pioneers’ Park in central Belgrade.
He also mentioned that the prosecutor asked Pijevac who had hired him to act as a steward in Caciland, to which the defendant replied: “We, patriots, come on our own.”
“His criminal record shows what kind of patriot we are talking about. He has been criminally convicted 11 times between 1983 and 2023. Among those, he has two criminal convictions in Germany. And that is, in fact, the profile of those ‘loyalists,’ as Vucic called them, in what he termed ‘the freest place in Europe,’” Matic observed.
This is the profile of Vucic’s loyalists
When asked who is responsible for the attacks in Caciland, Matic pointed squarely to the former Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic.
“He spoke about them being the elite, the very pinnacle of patriotism, and the cream of the crop in Serbia, the ‘crème de la crème.’ Even before this camp – which could be described as paramilitary or parapolice – was set up, he spoke about having 17,000 loyalists who would protect him and who would be ready to lay down their lives for him. And that is clearly the profile of the people here,” the ANEM chair assessed.
Matic believes that the violent rhetoric of Aleksandar Vucic, as well as Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic, spills over to the tabloids. He noted that just one day after resigning as President of the Republic, Vucic “once again protected Informer television by preventing it from being included in the regular daily media monitoring during the election campaign.”
“He even said: ‘He won’t allow a majority in the REM [Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media], because if there were a majority, they would ban Informer the very next day.’ Therefore, the violence coming from this media outlet will continue to flood Serbia. And the kind of violence we’ve seen out here is the same violence we can see on Informer television and in numerous other pro-government tabloids every single day, hour after hour,” Matic pointed out.
Journalists in Bor attacked with an axe, no one held accountable
Matic also recalled that influencer Nikola Jovanovic was severely injured after a Partizan EuroLeague basketball game when a group of hooligans attacked him over his social media posts regarding Ratko Mladic. He added that Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic broke the nose of Go-Change city councilor Tatjana Micic on Monday evening.
“Serbia has become violent. This isn’t just about this park. For months, violence has been spreading from here into the surrounding area, and it follows all Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) rallies. At almost all SNS rallies, we see restrictions on reporting, journalists being prevented from doing their jobs, and attacks on journalists. Frankly, our journalists now have to prepare as if they are going to war when they go out to cover events and elections,” Matic said.
He added that during the local elections in Bor, a news crew was attacked with an axe, leaving the victims suffering from severe long-term consequences and pain, while no one has been detained in connection with the case yet.
“The attacker in the vicinity of Bor were caught on video, as well as his car. Everything was handed over as evidence, the most compelling evidence possible,” Matic emphasized.
When asked about the future of Caciland, the ANEM chair said that for marketing reasons, public access through Pioneers’ Park would likely be permitted today, but that Vucic would find a way to maintain the kind of security apparatus he has utilized over the past year and a half.
“Everything being done right now is for the purpose of the election campaign. Naturally, they will verbally present a different face, such as claiming to protect women—yet just last night, a woman was injured by the mayor. We have this symbolic contradiction. The greatest amount of violence comes from right here – meaning from the Presidency while Aleksandar Vucic was there, the Parliament while Ana Brnabic was there, and she is still there, and the City Assembly where Aleksandar Sapic occasionally drops in,” Matic said.
He also pointed out that Sapic’s treatment of journalists at press conferences, along with his discrimination against N1 reporters, clearly illustrates a type of relationship that is completely unacceptable.
Caciland: A makeshift camp populated by people with criminal records
The tent encampment publicly known as Caciland, which was set up on March 6, 2025, in front of the Serbian Presidency building in Belgrade’s Pioneers’ Park, remains in place today, a year and a half later. The park itself is still cordoned off with metal fencing and remains inaccessible to the public.
It was initially presented to the public as a gathering place for “students who want to study” – specifically those opposing the student blockades and protests.
However, it was soon discovered that the site hosted not only activists of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) but also people with criminal records, a matter documented in detail by the investigative portal KRIK.
In addition to the 35 attacks on journalists mentioned by Veran Matic, assaults on citizens and opposition activists have also been recorded in the area.
Source: N1
