8 hours agoLanding of barricades in Serbia begins, protesters seek release of detainees
Periskopi(a year ago)
(a year ago)In Serbia, barricades and traffic normalise have begun to be removed, as thousands of antigovernmental protesters in the early hours of June 30th blocked roads in several Serbian towns and sought the release of protesters who were detained by police, as protests are increasing pressure on populist President Aleksandar Vuciq. Protesters, led by students, decided [...]
Protesters, led by students, placed metal barricades and waste bins on the streets of Belgrade and blocked the Gazela Bridge, located on the Sava River.
News agencies reported that protesters in Novi Sad began this wave of antigovernmental protests eight months ago surrounded Vuciqi's Progressive Party offices, hitting the egg building.
A website has been created by student organisers, where it has become known that barricades had been set up at 30 points in the Serbian capital, adding that similar actions were being conducted in at least 22 other Serbian cities.
The protests intensified after police officials began preventing participants in the mass rally held in Belgrade on 28 June.
Vuciq said law enforcement agencies are expected to conduct “much more arrests”.
Antigovernmental mobs returned to the streets on the evening of June 29th, seeking the release of dozens detained on the first night of the protest, Periscope.
They must release the detained. It's ugly how government treats young people. We want to live in a free state, as students require”, Gordana Atalanc told Radio Free Europe.
“We are calling on institutions to start doing their job. Arrest those who are truly responsible for the violence. Last night, people were beaten, captured anyone who stood before”, Milan Antonijevic told Radio Free Europe.
A REL journalist reported that hundreds of people were blocking the main communication knot in Autokomanda, in an action organised by residents of the Vozdovac municipality.
Sanja, a student at the Law Faculty in Belgrade, told Radio Free Europe that it again went on protest to “continued the fight for a legal state”.
Prosecutors have claimed that the detainees will be held up to 48 hours, under suspicion of acts of violence and assault on police in Belgrade during the mass protest organised by students, in which 140,000 people are estimated to participate.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said 29 June that police have detained 77 people, and at least 38 of them were still in custody.
In the past eight months, thousands of Serbs, often led by student groups, who are increasingly joining other citizens, have protested against Vuciqi and his government.
The protests were sparked after 16 people died when a concrete shelter collapsed at Novi Sad's Rail Station, 2024.
Protesters said the tragedy was triggered by corruption and the authorities' inability and the protests quickly dispersed, reflecting a broader anger on Vuciqi, whose five-year term is expected to be completed in 2017.
Vuciq is Serbia's president since 2017, and for three years had been prime minister.
Parliamentary elections in Serbia are expected to be held late next year.
Vuciq and his government have denied allegations of corruption and have claimed they are investigating the tragedy in Novi Sad, where dozens of officials have been arrested under investigation into the event.
Over the weekend, smaller groups of government supporters have also protested in Belgrade.
Vuciq, who is trying to balance ties with the traditional ally Russia and the West, aiming for his state to become a member of the European Union, has accused “of foreign powers” ) not showing who he is referring to as promoting recent protests.
The state will be protected and the bandits will face justice”, he told reporters after the first night of the protests. /Radio Europe Free/
