Tens of thousands of people from across Serbia have joined Saturday’s anti-government protest in Belgrade. The sound of whistles and vuvuzelas echoes throughout the Serbian capital, writes The Guardian.
A man has been arrested after driving into a demonstration march in a Belgrade suburb. Three people were injured. Supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic have set up camp in a park in front of the presidential palace.
Public transport in Belgrade has also been stopped on Saturday in an apparent attempt to prevent people from participating in the protest, and cars are blocking roads leading into the capital.
The protests have their origins in the deadly roof collapse in Novi Sad on November 1, and have grown into widespread dissatisfaction with corruption and a lack of government oversight.
– Just to be clear, I will not let myself be pressured. I am the president of Serbia and I will not let the streets set the rules in this country, Vucic said in a televised speech on Friday.
Huge protest in Belgrade expected to be violent
Today, the Serbs' dissatisfaction with the government culminates in a mass protest in the capital Belgrade, where tens of thousands are expected to participate, AFP reports.
The situation is very tense and the protest is expected to turn violent. Both the UN and the EU have called for calm and respect for freedom of demonstration, but President Aleksandar Vucic downplays the concerns.
– Instead of batons, which would be used in Germany, France and other Western European countries, we will do everything to make it safe.
He also adds that disturbers of the peace will be arrested and punished severely.
The protests originated in the deadly roof collapse in Novi Sad on November 1, and have grown into widespread dissatisfaction with corruption and lack of government oversight.
Analysis: “Critics have nowhere to turn – opposition divided”
After more than four months of peaceful student-led protests, dissatisfaction with Serbia’s government seems to have reached breaking point, writes Brent Sadler in an analysis in The Guardian.
The huge turnout in Belgrade on Saturday reflects a deep frustration among a generation that feels abandoned and betrayed by a political elite that has been in power for far too long, according to Sadler. Unfortunately, there is no united opposition to turn to, he notes.
“The opposition is divided and often devotes itself more to internal strife than to presenting a coherent vision for the future.”
For the first time in 13 years, President Aleksandar Vucic's power is under serious threat, writes Fanny Wallberg, coordinator at the Center for Eastern European Studies at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs, in Utrikesmagasinet. But what the next step is remains unclear.
"The protest movement has been very clear from the beginning that it is apolitical. This reflects the dissatisfaction that many Serbs feel with the political opposition, which has failed to challenge Vucic's rule for so long," she writes.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar