Even with the help of thugs, the Progressives did not win in Petrovec

Állítsd be a Google‑t, hogy a BALK mindig kéznél legyen!

Perhaps no one has paid as much attention—or any at all—to the Slovak minority in Vojvodina as in the past two days, and the name of Matica Slovenská has surely been noted, along with the fact that this minority does not allow itself to be humiliated. (Unlike others, here in Vojvodina, but let us not dwell on that now.)

It so happened that Matica Slovenská, whose primary task is to preserve identity, traditions, and culture, held presidential elections.

This sparked the scandal, as the Serbian Progressive Party attempted to infiltrate the institution, sending thugs on the day of voting—yet the Slovaks’ independent candidate won by a large margin.

The Problematic „Progressive” Candidate

According to locals, there has never been such a scandal in Petrovec (Bački Petrovac in Serbian) as in recent days.

The locals, most of whom are members of Matica Slovenská since it is their own heritage and cultural institution, learned just a few days earlier that the Serbian Progressive Party intended to place Jasna Kohutová at the head of Matica. She had previously served as municipality president and a provincial representative.

This was problematic from the locals’ point of view because they insist that Matica is a non-political organization, and that Kohutová has no place in it. They added that if she were elected, it would mean the complete degradation of the Slovak community, as Matica would no longer defend their rights, language, and culture.

During Kohutová’s previous leadership, locals faced many problems: she hindered the use of the Slovak language and “brought circus performers to sing at Slovak National Holidays.” According to locals, Kohutová only recently began university studies and completed her first year during the university blockades.

The Authorities Sent Thugs Against Them

Following all this, the locals decided to organize a protest in front of Matica Slovenská—that is, in front of the theater building—to prevent Kohutová’s election.

The Serbian Progressive Party, however, did not leave it to chance. The day before, locals had already heard there would be a counter-protest, but they did not expect that not only local ‘enforcers’—whom they already knew—would show up.

There were about 70–80 protesters, and around 30 thugs from the Serbian Progressive Party, none of whom had any connection to the Slovak community. It later emerged that these “show-of-force” men were from Odžaci; most were criminals, ex-convicts, or members of the Serbian intelligence service (BIA), with some holding high political offices—managing public companies and so on.

The locals wanted nothing more than to observe the election, which they were entitled to do. However, the aggressively behaving unknown men stood at the entrance of the Slovak Theater and let no one in.

Vučić’s democracy in Serbia is built on black-shirted thugs (Source: TikTok)

A former Matica president, Mihal Špevak, said to the black-clad men at the scene:

“Shame on you! Only the Slovak people elect this institution; do not obstruct us. Got your money? Then go and spend it!” People chanted: “Go home!” while the unknown men physically blocked their entry.

Three Incidents, Police Inaction

Danas and N1 reported that three incidents occurred: a teacher from Sombor was attacked by a thug who tore her banner—this was reported to the police. Martina Martinko Sabolčki, leader of the “Biram borbu” (I Choose the Struggle) group, was pushed by a local Progressive supporter as she tried to enter the building. She suffered a shoulder injury and required medical attention.

When female stewards blocked the exit in response to the thugs blocking the entrance, a scuffle broke out—a video was made of this too. The police, however, watched passively and did not intervene.

This is how the thugs prevented Slovaks (those without Progressive Party membership cards) from voting. One Slovak man sarcastically remarked, “Progressive heroes, go ahead and beat Slovak women!”

One citizen approached them to report the first incident, but they just shut the door and left. Later, they claimed, “We didn’t see any incident.”

Still, the Independent Candidate Won

Despite pressure and threats, the independent candidate, Juraj Červenak, won the election with 31 votes, while Jasna Kohutová received 19.

Serbia’s ambassador to Slovakia, Aleksandar Nakić, threatened the candidates and their families—especially Červenak, who spoke about this publicly.

Attempts were also made to manipulate the composition of the election committee, but the delegates stood up for a fair vote. Kohutová left the room along with the thugs. Was this the first defeat for the Serbian Progressive Party? Have those changes finally begun?

It would be premature to draw far-reaching conclusions. We could be truly optimistic if similarly independent elections were held in a more significant institution—or within the Hungarian community, for example.