Thousands set up street blockades in Serbia after crackdown on protesters

Al Jazeera

2 days ago

Thousands of people have set up street blockades in Serbia, where tensions are boiling over after the arrest of antigovernment protesters who clashed with police at a massive night-time rally a day earlier that demanded early elections, marking a crescendo of months-long public dissent.
Protesters put up metal fences and garbage containers at various locations in the capital Belgrade late on Sunday into early Monday, also blocking a key bridge over the Sava River. Protesters in the northern city of Novi Sad pelted the offices of the ruling populist Serbian Progressive Party with eggs.
Serbian media said similar protest blockades were organised in smaller cities across the country.
Protesters are demanding that authorities release dozens of university students and others at the demonstration who were jailed for allegedly attacking the police or purportedly plotting to overthrow the government at Saturday's student-led protest in Belgrade.
At a news conference earlier on Sunday, Serbia's embattled populist leader Aleksandar Vucic accused the organisers of the protest of inciting violence and attacks on police.
'There will be many more arrested for attacking police … this is not the end,' Vucic said, accusing the protesters of causing 'terror'.
Clashes erupted after the official part of the rally ended. Police used pepper spray, batons and shields while protesters threw rocks, bottles and other objects.
Critics say Vucic has become increasingly authoritarian since coming to power more than a decade ago, having served as first deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2014 and prime minister from 2014 to 2017 before becoming president, stifling democratic freedoms while allowing corruption and organised crime to flourish. He denies the accusations.
Saturday's rally was one of the largest in eight sustained months of demonstrations triggered by the roof collapse at a train station in the city of Novi Sad in November that killed 16 people – a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption.
Following the outcry over the disaster, Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned, but the governing party continued in power, with a reshuffled government and Vucic still in office.
Authorities put the crowd's size at 36,000 – well below an independent estimate by the Archive of Public Gatherings of about 140,000.
During his news conference, Vucic also criticised 'terrorists and those who tried to bring down the state', singling out University of Belgrade's head dean, Vladan Djokic, who was among the protesters.
'Take freedom into your own hands'
'Serbia won. You cannot destroy Serbia with violence,' said Vucic. 'They consciously wanted to spur bloodshed. The time of accountability is coming.'
Protesters say the current populist government is 'illegitimate' and lay the responsibility for any violence on the government.
Police said on Sunday that 48 officers were injured while 22 protesters sought medical help. Out of 77 people arrested, 38 remain in custody, most of whom are facing criminal charges, said Interior Minister Ivica Dacic.
Before Saturday's protest, organisers had issued an 'ultimatum' for Vucic to call elections – a demand he has repeatedly rejected.
After the rally, organisers played a statement to the crowd calling for Serbians to 'take freedom into your own hands' and giving them the 'green light'.
'The authorities had all the mechanisms and all the time to meet the demands and prevent an escalation,' the organisers said in a statement on Instagram.
On Sunday, Vucic reiterated that there would not be any national vote before the end of 2026.
He has repeatedly alleged the protests are part of a foreign plot to destroy his 12-year government, without providing any evidence.
More than a dozen people have been arrested in recent weeks, a crackdown that has now become routine in the face of large demonstrations.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, but Vucic's government has nurtured close relations with Russia and China.