Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in the capital city of Serbia, Belgrade, on Saturday (June 3) in protest of the government and the violence which they have blamed for the deaths of 18 people in two separate mass shootings in Serbia. The protesters who marked the one-month anniversary of the first mass shooting in a school have also called for the resignation of the country’s president, interior minister, and the head of the country’s secret service.
What happened at the protest on Saturday?
The Serbian capital city witnessed its fifth anti-government protest in a month and the people marched through Belgrade while some even broke off to President Aleksandar Vucic’s official residence.
According to opposition groups and media reports, right-wing groups were trying to infiltrate the march to promote their nationalist agenda. This also prompted the rally organised by several pro-European opposition parties on Friday to be rescheduled to Saturday, after the far-right groups reportedly said they would join the march.
On Saturday, protesters raised slogans like “Vucic go away,” and held up banners with the slogan “Serbia against violence.” Meanwhile, some demonstrators also left hundreds of pieces of paper by Vucic’s official residence with messages calling for him to step down.
“Serbia against violence” protesters have blamed Vucic for not tackling the culture of violence and its promotion in the media which they say has now become a part of the society.
As per a report by Reuters, recent Serbian reality TV shows have allowed the participation of convicted criminals, including murderers as well as shown men beating up women. However, TV stations have vowed to stop airing the show after backlash.
What have the protesters demanded?
The protesters have called for the resignation of the Serbian president, Interior Minister Bratislav Gasic, and Secret Service Chief Aleksandar Vulin as well as an immediate suspension of TV programmes that promote violence and called for their broadcasting licences to be revoked.
“I’m here for all of us, especially my children. So they don’t need to protest, but work and live in their country like they should,” a 33-year-old mathematician Bojana Popovic told AFP during the rally.
Last month, Serbia witnessed the country’s first school shooting when a 13-year-old killed nine students at a Belgrade elementary school. In a separate incident, a day later, a 21-year-old man killed eight people in a town outside Belgrade.
‘Political’ stunt: Serbian president about the protests
Previously, Vucic has dismissed the protests as a “political” stunt and denied accusations of fueling intolerance and violence. The Serbian president also went on to reportedly peddle theories about foreign nations and the opposition conspiring to topple his government which has been in power for more than a decade.
“They just need to know that dead or alive, including my children, I will fight against those who support violence,” said Vucic, in a recent interview.
Notably, after the mass shootings the government declared a one-month amnesty period for citizens to surrender unregistered weapons where residents had turned over about 13,500 items including guns, cartons of hand grenades, and anti-tank rocket launchers.
(With inputs from agencies)
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