Parliamentary elections in Serbia

Vucic on the giant protest: "They will not succeed"  

 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic blames the violent demonstration outside the city hall on "foreign interference", writes the BBC.  

 

On Sunday, protesters in Belgrade made an attempt to storm the city hall. The incident is an escalation of last week's protests that started with reports of electoral fraud after the December 17 parliamentary elections.  

 

Vucic, who dismissed the accusations as "nonsense and lies", says that the state has the opportunity to arrest and bring those responsible for the events to justice.  

 

- No revolution took place and they will not succeed, says the president. 

 

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Students block roads: "Fighting for democracy"  

 

After violent scenes at the city hall in Belgrade on Sunday, protesters have now started blocking roads in the Serbian capital, reports AFP.  

 

On Monday, a few hundred protesters, mainly students, gathered on a busy street in the central parts of the city.  

 

- I was born in 2002 and I didn't think I would have to take to the streets to fight for democracy like my parents did. But I have to, says the 21-year-old student Emilija Milenkovic.  

 

The protests in the country started after independent election observers raised suspicions of electoral fraud in the Serbian parliamentary elections earlier in December. 

 

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Russia blames unrest in Belgrade on the West 

 

Russia accuses Western countries of provoking the unrest in Serbia, reports AFP. The accusations come a day after protesters attempted to storm the city hall in Belgrade.  

 

- The attempts by the collective West to destabilize the situation in the country are obvious, said the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zacharova to the state news agency Ria, without presenting any evidence.  

 

Contrary to the protesters, who are calling for new elections, the Kremlin has welcomed the election results and said it hopes it will lead to even stronger friendship between the countries.  

 

Among other things, Russia supports Serbia in the conflict with Kosovo, and the Kremlin controls both Sputnik Serbia and RT Balkan. They are seen as important propaganda channels for incumbent President Aleksandar Vucic and his right-wing populist SNS party.