About 140,000 protesters rallied in Belgrade, the largest turnout over the past few months, as student-led demonstrations mount pressure on the populist government to call early elections.
The rally was one of the largest in more than half a year student-led actions, which began in November last year after the roof of a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people — a tragedy widely blamed on entrenched corruption.
On Saturday, a sea of protesters filled Belgrade’s largest square and poured into several surrounding streets.
Photo: AFP
The independent protest monitor Archive of Public Gatherings estimated the crowd size at about 140,000, significantly higher than the police estimate of 36,000.
“We want elections,” the crowd chanted, waving Serbian flags and holding banners bearing the names of cities and towns from around the country.
For more than half a year, students have blockaded universities and organized large demonstrations around the country, demanding a transparent investigation into the deaths.
However, in contrast with previous gatherings, which have remained peaceful, clashes erupted between demonstrators and riot police.
Agence France-Presse journalists witnessed police firing tear gas and stun grenades as protesters hurled flares at rows of police in several clashes following the huge gathering in Serbia’s capital.
Police director Dragan Vasiljevic said officers had used batons after coming under attack but denied deploying “chemical agents” to disperse the crowd.
Dozens were detained, while six officers and two people were injured in the violence, Vasiljevic said.
Frustrated by government inaction over the tragedy, students have been calling for elections since last month.
“We show once again that we will not stop,” law student Stefan Ivakovic said. “We will rally as long as it takes until the demands are met.”
Ahead of Saturday’s protest, organizers issued an “ultimatum” for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to announce elections by 9pm — a demand he had rejected well before the deadline.
As the protest ended, organizers 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 organizers said in a statement on Instagram after the rally. “Instead, they chose violence and repression against the citizens. Any radicalization of the situation is their responsibility.”
Following the clashes, the police minister “strongly condemned the attacks” on officers and said those responsible would be arrested.
Vucic, who had warned of violence before the rally, has repeatedly said the protests are part of a foreign plot to destroy his government.
More than a dozen people have been arrested over the past few weeks, a crackdown that has now become routine ahead of large demonstrations.
On Friday, five people were remanded in custody accused of plotting to overthrow the government, the Serbian Higher Court in Belgrade said in a statement.
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
FOREST SITE: A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane in a forested area, with rescue personnel saying they saw no evidence of survivors A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed yesterday in a remote spot in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at about 1pm. A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16km from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also