An estimated 100,000 join antigovernment rally in Serbia’s Belgrade
A mass rally against Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and his government was attended by at least 100,000 people in Belgrade.
Despite occasional rain, large crowds of protesters waving flags clogged the capital’s downtown area, making it difficult for people to move.
University students, who have been organizing peaceful protests for the past four months, abruptly called for the demonstration to end, claiming they could no longer guarantee safety at the rally. This is in response to apparent sporadic incidents between protesters and the police.
As the tensions grew, thousands of protesters continued to take to the streets.
At the height of the protest, police reported that the crowd had surpassed 107 000 people. The rally was described as the largest ever held in Serbia by independent media, which claimed much more people attended. Protesters poured into Belgrade from a variety of directions, forcing the city to halt all public transportation.
Following a , a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in Serbia’s north in November, killing 15 people, the rally was a part of a nationwide anticorruption movement.
In his previous 13 years in charge, Vucic’s strong hold on power in Serbia has been shattered by the almost daily demonstrations that started in response to the tragedy. Many Serbians demanded accountability for the victims and attributed the crash to widespread government corruption, carelessness, and disregard for construction safety laws.
Vucic repeatedly warned about alleged plans for unrest before the demonstration, as well as threatening arrests and harsh sentences for any wrongdoing.
Several reporters from Croatia’s and Slovenia’s neighboring countries have been turned away from Serbia’s border, with the explanation that their presence “presents a security risk.”
Source: Aljazeera
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