Resume Protests Against Vuciki

Protesters represent the biggest challenge in the era of driving Vuciqi so far, and were initially called by opposition parties after one of their leaders was violated in front of a political rally in central Serbia during November.

“Aleance for Serbia” (SZS) in opposition, a coalition of parties from all over the political spectrum, claimed the violators were supporters of President Vuciq's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), but authorities deny this charge.

Serbia's “Serbia is slowly rising, all cities are rising and... our number will increase further”, Branislav Trifunovac, actor and one of the leaders of this movement, before the crowd gathered in Belgrade on Saturday.

Several hundred people also protested in the southern town of Kragujevac, while about 50 people staged protests in northern Novi Sad.

Since 8 December, where the first protests were held, opposition party gatherings have joined students and public figures, especially artists.

Demonstrators gathered in front of the Faculty of Philosophy and marched through the main streets of Belgrade, with a large banner reading “One in 5 million”. This is a reference to a previous Vuciqi statement, under which it would not meet opposition demands for free media and fair elections “even if 5 million people were on the street”.

Vuciq, a nationalist of the hard line turned into pro-European, is accused by the opposition and civil society of establishing an autocratic regime and having full control over the media, using it in campaigns against political opponents.

Speaking ahead of the protests, Vuciq has indicated he is “ready to listen to citizens protesting, but not opposition liars”. Vuciq was elected president in 2017, and previously held the post of prime minister.