Protesting students and opposition supporters rioted in Belgrade on the night before the mass protest on Saturday, in particular, they smashed windows and flattened tires on tractors driven by supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian Interior Ministry said.
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“During the evening’s uncoordinated student meeting in Belgrade, several incidents occurred, which were mainly directed against participants in another student meeting (the Students 2.0 Group for the Resumption of Studies) in Pioneer Park,” the ministry said.
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On Friday, about two hundred tractors appeared in a tent camp near the presidential administration. They were placed around the Pioneer Park, where a camp of students is located, advocating the end of the four-month strike of universities. Late in the evening, protesters came to the camp, they shouted insults at the camp residents.
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The protesters overturned one of the tractors, and two people were detained for violating the order.
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The Interior Ministry clarified that there were no other major incidents. Up to 31,000 protesters took to the streets of Belgrade on Saturday night.
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Vucic said on Friday that the protest of students and opposition supporters in Belgrade on Saturday had not been coordinated with the authorities, and he called on the police and other government agencies to ensure full security. The President warned about the detention of anyone who tries to attack opponents, regardless of whether they are talking about the opposition or supporters of the current government. He urged the police not to use force, except in extreme cases.
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According to the plan spread on social networks, around noon, protesters block one of the largest boulevards of Kralja Aleksandra in the center of Belgrade near the technical faculties, the largest automobile interchange Avtokomanda in the south of the city, a roundabout near the municipality of Novi Beograd in the west in another part of the capital. Tractors from farmers who supported the students’ protest are also expected there. The main protest meeting on the square in front of the Assembly (Parliament) of Serbia was scheduled for 17:00.
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The state-owned company representing the railways of Serbia announced the suspension of intercity services due to threats of a terrorist attack, the media reported on the refusal of some bus carriers to make flights to Belgrade on Saturday.
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Protests by students and the opposition have been taking place in Serbia since November. The reason for them was the death of 15 people when a concrete canopy collapsed at the railway station in Novi Sad on November 1. The protesters blocked the work of many higher educational institutions, blocked roads and interchanges, although they did not cause major riots. Among their demands: publication of documentation on the reconstruction of the station in Novi Sad, investigation and criminal liability for those involved in the tragedy, release from prosecution of all those detained at protest actions.
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The authorities gradually fulfilled these conditions. In particular, documents related to the reconstruction of the station were made publicly available.
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In January, Vucic signed a decision pardoning 13 protesters who had been prosecuted for rioting. The country’s leadership calls on students and opposition forces to engage in dialogue, but this call remains unanswered.
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The Serbian authorities believe that the goal of the protesters is to overthrow the government and the president, and that Western—funded media and organizations are behind their actions. According to Vucic, about a billion euros have been allocated from abroad for these purposes in four years.
