PHOTO Violence between police and anti-presidential protesters in Serbia. Tens of thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of Belgrade
Police used tear gas against protesters in central Belgrade, after tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand early elections and the departure of President Aleksandar Vucic from power, reports Reuters.
People gathered in Slavija Square, one of the capital's biggest intersections, at the end of a year and a half of anti-corruption protests that erupted after the roof of the Novi Sad train station collapsed, killing 16 people.
Police in riot gear surrounded Belgrade's town hall building, after which sporadic clashes broke out between police and protesters near the presidential building and near a park that Vucic's supporters have occupied since March last year.
Police fired tear gas and used stunners in an attempt to disperse the protesters. In turn, the protesters set trash cans on fire.
Many of them wore badges with the image of red hands and the inscription “Your hands are stained with blood”, as well as banners reading “Students win”.
Protests against the government began after the catastrophe in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024, when the opposition and non-governmental organizations accused the government of mismanagement of public affairs and corruption.
Vucic and his supporters have denied allegations of corruption and said that the necessary measures have been taken to punish those responsible for the catastrophe in Novi Sad.
“This government is afraid of those who defend their dignity and rights,” Mirjana Nikolic, rector of the University of Arts in Belgrade, told the demonstrators.
The police estimated the number of demonstrators in the square and on the adjacent streets at 34,300 people. In contrast, the Archive of Public Assemblies, a group that monitors public demonstrations, put the number at around 100,000.
“I came here to show how many we are, how many disgruntled citizens there are, and that the time has come to hold elections to fix things,” said Dragan Djuric, a 55-year-old farmer who lives in the town of Sabac, at the protest.
