Thousands of Anti-Government Protests Persist in Serbia: Storming City Hall and Blocking Traffic
Protesters in Serbia participating in demonstrations against the results of parliamentary elections, joined by students, have declared a six-hour traffic blockade at two locations in Belgrade today, as reported by Nova.
Yesterday, police in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, used tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters rallying against potential election fraud in last week's general elections. Law enforcement intervened after some individuals in the crowd near City Hall broke windows and attempted to force their way inside.
Over 30 individuals were arrested yesterday evening during a protest in front of the Belgrade Parliament after clashes with the gendarmerie. Among those detained were people who did not participate in the disturbances but were present at the rally. Despite this fact, they face criminal charges for incitement to violently overthrow the constitutional order, a tactic, according to lawyer Ivan Ninic, to hybridly establish the jurisdiction of the Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor's Office and thus keep the proceedings under government control.
Opposition activists assert that the police used excessive force.
Among the causes of the mass protests and blockades, they cite government manipulation of the elections won by the ruling party.
As the deadline set by protesters for agreement on the voter list verification expired, they blocked the entrance to the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government building, from where they plan to move to block two more locations. They announced a split into two columns and the blocking of traffic in two undisclosed locations in Belgrade, citing safety considerations.
The head of the police department stated that he "will not tolerate" the blockade of government institutions and bridges.
Yesterday evening, a protest took place in Belgrade against the results of the parliamentary elections in the country, where participants attempted to break into City Hall.
Thousands gathered in front of the Belgrade City Hall at the invitation of the opposition coalition "Serbia against Violence." This marks the seventh protest against the results of the parliamentary elections in Serbia, which, according to the opposition, were marred by numerous violations.
Yesterday, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic stated that Russian intelligence services provided information to the Serbian government about potential incidents during the protests in Belgrade, expressing gratitude to the Russian side. President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic met with the Russian ambassador in Serbia and discussed the opposition's overnight protests in Belgrade.
Meanwhile, President Aleksandar Vucic dismisses the opposition's accusations and protesters' claims of election result manipulation as 'nonsense and lies'.