Demonstrating tens of thousands of students: Vucic under pressure in Belgrade!

Demonstrating tens of thousands of students: Vucic under pressure in Belgrade!

Novi Sad, Serbien - in Belgrade demonstrated tens of thousands of students against the government of President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday. The protesters, which had traveled from different parts of Serbia, partly with tractors and bicycles, require justice and an end to corruption. The Catholic Archbishop of Belgrade, Ladislav Nemet, supported the movement and praised the courage of the demonstrators in a letter that local media published: "Your courage and your determination to fight for justice and fairness are a sign of hope and belief in a better future for Serbia." The backing by church leaders could give the protests additional momentum, such as kathpress.at reported.

The demonstrations are a reaction to a deadly misfortune in Novi Sad, in which 15 people died in November, which is interpreted as a sign of botch and corruption. Now political analysts are warning of a possible escalation of the protests that have been worsening for months. According to orf.at , vucic could come under pressure to either give the demands or, which could be seen as a further sign of his weakness, repressive to the protest movement. The concern has grown that there could be violent clashes between demonstrators and loyal supporters.

protests in full swing

already on Friday evening 31,000 demonstrators had gathered in the city center. President Vucic tried to appease the situation by assured that everything would be done to secure the demonstrations. At the same time, however, he warned that he would not allow "that the street dictates the rules". The student protest movements formulated guidelines for peaceful meetings and distanced themselves from violence. Nevertheless, there were already arrests and confrontations with security forces in the run -up to the protests.

The students have made it clear that their movement should not be undermined by political motives or violence. Vucic described the situation as dangerous and asked everyone to remain calm, since the escalation of the protests could be the greatest threat to its government, analysts believe. It remains to be seen whether these protests, which have been considered the largest in months, can bring about a turn in Serbia's policy.