Thousands of people took to the streets in Serbia over the weekend, marking the latest round of protests over widespread corruption and stifling democratic freedoms.After nearly eight months of persistent dissent against populist President Aleksandar Vucic, demonstrators declared the government “illegitimate” and clashed with riot police in the capital, Belgrade.
Police said on Sunday that 48 officers were injured while 22 protesters sought medical help. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said out of 77 people detained, 38 remained in custody on Sunday, most of them facing criminal charges.
Vucic accused the organisers of inciting violence and attacking police officers, calling them “terrorists” who “tried to bring down the state”.
Critics accuse him of being increasingly authoritarian since coming to power, first as prime minister in 2014 and then as president since 2017. Serbians have a history of uprooting strongman leaders; they ousted Slobodan Milosevic 25 years ago after bloody protests.
What are protesters demanding?
Antigovernment protests started in November, after a renovated rail station canopy in the northern city of Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. Many in Serbia blamed the tragedy on corruption-fuelled negligence in state infrastructure projects.
Following the disaster, Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party stayed in power with a reshuffled administration.
The student-led protests have since focused their demands on the need for snap elections instead of regular elections planned for 2027. In advance of Saturday’s protest, organisers had issued an “ultimatum” for Vucic to announce a new vote by 9pm (19:00 GMT) that day – a demand he rejected. Advertisement
Protesters are also stressing the …
