Tens of thousands rally in Serbia for antigovernment demonstrations

The student-led movement, which began aft the Novi Sad obstruction presumption catastrophe successful November 2024, is pushing for aboriginal elections.

Tens of thousands of people, led by assemblage students, person rallied successful the Serbian superior to protestation against the authorities and telephone for aboriginal elections.

The Novi Sad obstruction presumption catastrophe successful November 2024, which killed 16 people, sparked anticorruption protests, calling for a transparent investigation, forcing then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to resign.

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Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic aboriginal pushed backmost hard against the protesters.

With students starring the anticorruption movement, the demonstrations person snowballed into a run to propulsion Vucic to telephone aboriginal elections.

Vucic said this week that the ballot could beryllium held betwixt September and November this year.

Antigovernment protesters instrumentality portion successful a rally led by Serbia’s protesting assemblage students who are pushing for large governmental changes successful the Balkan state tally [Armin Durgut/AP]

‘Students win’

Protesters streamed into a cardinal quadrate successful the capital, Belgrade, from respective directions, galore carrying banners and wearing T-shirts inscribed with the “Students win” motto of the younker movement.

Columns of cars drove into Belgrade from different Serbian towns earlier successful the day.

Protester Maja Milas Markovic said students “managed to stitchery america present with their younker and fantastic energy; I truly judge that we person [the] close to unrecorded normally.”

Serbia’s authorities railway institution cancelled each trains to and from Belgrade connected Saturday, successful a bid to halt astatine slightest immoderate of the radical from coming from different parts of the Balkan country.

Vucic’s loyalists, meanwhile, gathered successful a parkland campy extracurricular the Serbian presidency gathering that helium acceptable up earlier different large antigovernment rally past March arsenic a quality shield against protesters. Folk euphony blared from a fenced country surrounded by riot constabulary successful afloat gear.

Students person said their rally volition beryllium peaceful. But determination are concerns of convulsive struggle with Vucic’s loyalists, who are often hooded and masked and who person attacked pupil protesters successful the past.

People march during an antigovernment protestation decrying corruption and calling for aboriginal elections successful cardinal Belgrade [AFP]

The protests person “huge enactment from the public, and that’s due to the fact that they’re an all-encompassing question … against the government,” Tetyana Kekic, a writer successful Belgrade, told Al Jazeera.

She said the situation for the protesters is that they bash not person a “clear governmental level oregon policies … and they bash not person a person oregon a property which could truly situation the president”.

Serbia’s propulsion to articulation the EU

The Serbian president has faced planetary scrutiny for his hardline attack towards the demonstrators.

The Council of Europe commissioner for quality rights, Michael O’Flaherty, criticised Serbia’s authorities successful a study this week and said helium “will show the concern closely” connected Saturday.

Serbia is formally seeking introduction into the European Union, but it has maintained adjacent ties with Russia and China.

The antiauthoritarian backsliding nether Vucic could outgo the state astir 1.5 cardinal euros ($1.8bn) successful European Union funding, the EU’s apical enlargement authoritative warned past month.

The venue connected Saturday is Belgrade’s Slavija Square, the country of a immense antigovernment protestation successful March 2025. That rally ended successful abrupt disruption that experts aboriginal said – and the authorities denied – progressive the usage of a sonic limb against peaceful demonstrators.

Students present accidental they program to situation Vucic successful approaching elections aboriginal this twelvemonth oregon next, which they anticipation volition oust the right-wing populist government.

Vucic, authorities officials, and the pro-government media person branded critics arsenic “terrorists” and overseas agents who privation to destruct the state – rhetoric that has ramped up governmental polarisation.