Protests in Serbia Credit Line: Marko Drobnjakovic / AP / Profimedia
New confrontations broke out between anti-government protesters and police in Serbia, on the fifth consecutive night of incidents, after the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) offices, were burned down, reports the BBC.
Valjevo police would have used paralyzing grenades and tear gas against protesters, after a small group of masked people attacked the empty headquarters of SNS, setting fire.
There were numerous accusations of police violence and brutality in the capital Belgrade and Novi Sad. The Ministry of Interior of Serbia denied these accusations.
These events take place while Russia has committed to support Pro-Moscow President Aleksandar Vučić, who leads SNS, saying he will not “run out of reaction”.
The protests were initially triggered by the collapse of a station in Novi Sad, in November last year, the Serbs demanding early elections and the end of the 12 years of reign of President Aleksander Vučić.
Although the anti-corruption demonstrations attracted hundreds of thousands of protesters, they were largely peaceful until the collision on Wednesday, when the pro-governmentalists organized the countermarks.
On Saturday night, the anti -revolt police were again held in several cities, including Belgrade, while people participated in demonstrations to request early elections.
The offices and flags of Vucic's SNS party were at the center of the protesters' anger.
Also, the protesters broke the windows of the Serbian Radical Party, a coalition partner of the SNS ruling party.
In the last week, they have been reported injured in protests throughout the country, and on social networks there was an unverified video recording in which the police beat a man in Valjevo.
Michael O'Flaherty, the human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe, expressed his concern on the “disproportionate police” in Serbia on Friday, urging the authorities to “end the arbitrary arrests and to relax the situation.”
Vučić reacted to Saturday's events on Instagram, writing that “violence is an expression of total weakness” and promising to “punish the batsmen.”
He repeatedly rejected the requests for early elections and denounced the demonstrations as part of a foreign plot of his overturn.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has offered its support for the pro-Moscow right president. “We cannot remain insensitive to what is happening in brotherly Serbia,” the Ministry of Moscow announced.
The statement stated that the police “use legal methods and means to master the violent crowds” and that “public order, security and lives” are in danger.
Protests almost daily included Serbia since November, after the roof of Novi Sad station, who killed 16 people.
The tragedy has become a symbol of corruption rooted in this Balkan country, the initial requests for transparent investigations turning into applications for early elections.
At the peak, the protests attracted hundreds of thousands of people on the streets. (News.ro)
