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BELGRADE: Tens of thousands gathered on Saturday for the fifth anti-government protest this month in SerbiaBelgrade, after a series of shootings that killed 18 people, half of them children.
Serbia’s “anti-violence” protests have developed into some of the largest rallies since large-scale demonstrations led to the downfall of strongman Slobodan Milosevic more than two decades ago.
The protests followed mass shootings in early May that left 18 dead and several injured. Nine of the dead were students at a primary school in Belgrade who were shot dead by a 13-year-old.
The demonstrations have sparked outrage at the ruling party over what demonstrators describe as a culture of violence fueled by the government and the media they control.
33-year-old mathematician “I’m here for all of us, especially my kids. So they don’t need to protest, but they work and live in their country as they should.” Bojana Popovic He told AFP during the rally.
This week’s protest, organized by several pro-European opposition parties, was initially planned for Friday, but was moved as a precaution after far-right groups announced they would show up.
The demonstrators are also calling on the government to revoke the broadcasting licenses of TV channels that promote violent content, and to impose a ban on pro-government newspapers that stir up tensions by targeting political opponents.
They are also calling on the Minister of Interior and the head of the intelligence service to resign.
The rallies were calm at first, but turned into a full-fledged anti-government protest after their demands were met with strong rebuff from the president and his allies, who mocked the rallies and hurled insults at the participants.
Critics have been accusing the Serbian president for years Alexander Vucic Increasingly relying on authoritarian measures to keep the opposition in disarray and keep the media and state institutions under his control.
Vucic dismissed the protests as a “political” stunt and promoted conspiracy theories about foreign powers allegedly organizing the rallies.
The 53-year-old populist leader also rejected part of the opposition’s demand for a transitional government to be formed before new elections, saying it would not happen “as long as I live”.
Serbia’s “anti-violence” protests have developed into some of the largest rallies since large-scale demonstrations led to the downfall of strongman Slobodan Milosevic more than two decades ago.
The protests followed mass shootings in early May that left 18 dead and several injured. Nine of the dead were students at a primary school in Belgrade who were shot dead by a 13-year-old.
The demonstrations have sparked outrage at the ruling party over what demonstrators describe as a culture of violence fueled by the government and the media they control.
33-year-old mathematician “I’m here for all of us, especially my kids. So they don’t need to protest, but they work and live in their country as they should.” Bojana Popovic He told AFP during the rally.
This week’s protest, organized by several pro-European opposition parties, was initially planned for Friday, but was moved as a precaution after far-right groups announced they would show up.
The demonstrators are also calling on the government to revoke the broadcasting licenses of TV channels that promote violent content, and to impose a ban on pro-government newspapers that stir up tensions by targeting political opponents.
They are also calling on the Minister of Interior and the head of the intelligence service to resign.
The rallies were calm at first, but turned into a full-fledged anti-government protest after their demands were met with strong rebuff from the president and his allies, who mocked the rallies and hurled insults at the participants.
Critics have been accusing the Serbian president for years Alexander Vucic Increasingly relying on authoritarian measures to keep the opposition in disarray and keep the media and state institutions under his control.
Vucic dismissed the protests as a “political” stunt and promoted conspiracy theories about foreign powers allegedly organizing the rallies.
The 53-year-old populist leader also rejected part of the opposition’s demand for a transitional government to be formed before new elections, saying it would not happen “as long as I live”.
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