During a massive rally against populist President Aleksandar Vucic, who demanded an early parliamentary election, hundreds of anti-government protesters were detained in Serbia’s capital as a result of clashes with riot police.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators staged the protest, which comes after nearly eight months of persistent student opposition led by Serbia’s university students, which has shaken Vucic’s stronghold in the Balkan nation.
“We want elections,” we say! Many people were unable to get to the venue on Saturday as they filled the capital’s central Slavija Square and several blocks around it.
Ivica Dacic, the interior minister of Serbia, claimed that some protesters attacked the police. He claimed that police “arrest all those who attacked the police” using their positions to restore public order.
As they clashed with law enforcement, some demonstrators used trash bins as a shield against baton-wielding police. Some of them wore scarves and masks over their faces. Before kicking protesters with their shields, police used pepper spray.
Vucic and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have repeatedly disputed the need for an early vote and accused protesters of plotting to incite violence against orders from abroad, which they did not specify or provide evidence for.
Despite declining attendance in recent weeks and nearly eight months of almost daily protests, the overwhelming turnout for Saturday’s anti-Vucic rally suggested that the resolve is still present.
36, 000 people were present, according to Serbian police, at the start of the protest on Saturday. About 140, 000 people attended the student-led rally, according to an independent monitoring organization that tracks public gatherings.
Source: Aljazeera
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