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Serbs Protest Against Government, Call for Early Elections
Developing
In Short: Tens of thousands of protesters in Belgrade demand early elections and transparency, following a rail disaster that sparked widespread discontent.
Tens of thousands of people, led by university students, have rallied in Belgrade to protest against the government and call for early elections, according to Al Jazeera. The protests, which have garnered significant public support, were sparked by the Novi Sad rail station disaster in November 2024, which killed 16 people and prompted calls for a transparent investigation and the resignation of then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic.
The challenge for the protesters, however, is the lack of a clear political platform or policies, and the absence of a leader or prominent figure to challenge President Aleksandar Vučić, as noted by Tetyana Kekic, a journalist in Belgrade. Experts have also raised concerns, with the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, Michael O’Flaherty, criticizing Serbia’s government and promising to monitor the situation closely.
The rally ended in unexpected disruption, with reports suggesting the use of a sonic weapon against the peaceful demonstrators. Government officials denied these claims, but the incident has added to the tension surrounding the protests.
This all-encompassing movement against the government reflects a broader dissatisfaction among the public, as highlighted by Kekic, who emphasized the public's huge support for the protests.
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- Tens of thousands of people, led by university students, have rallied in the Serbian capital to protest against the government and call for early elections.
- The Novi Sad rail station disaster in November 2024, which killed 16 people, sparked anticorruption protests, calling for a transparent investigation, forcing then-Prime Minister Milos Vucevic to resign.
- The protests have “huge support from the public, and that’s because they’re an all-encompassing movement … against the government,” Tetyana Kekic, a journalist in Belgrade, told Al Jazeera.
- She said the challenge for the protesters is that they do not have a “clear political platform or policies … and they do not have a leader or a personality which could really challenge the president”.
- The Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, Michael O’Flaherty, criticised Serbia’s government in a report this week and said he “will monitor the situation closely” on Saturday.
- That rally ended in sudden disruption that experts later said – and the government denied – involved the use of a sonic weapon against peaceful demonstrators.
Sources
- Al Jazeeralink