A small group of students and citizens has entered the sixth consecutive day of blocking the premises of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in both Takovska Street and Košutnjak, causing significant disruption to the broadcaster’s programming and operations.
Due to the blockade, RTS has switched to an altered broadcasting schedule. The main and side entrances remain blocked, preventing employees from entering their workplace. Last night’s news bulletin aired 10 minutes late and without a host, while the morning program was canceled entirely. This disruption also prevented the live broadcast of the Easter midnight and morning liturgies, for which RTS apologized to the faithful.
Participants include students from Novi Pazar and a group of bikers, using whistles, vuvuzelas, and chanting to amplify their protest.
The protest has also paralyzed traffic around the RTS buildings:
- Takovska Street (from Kneza Miloša to Svetogorska),
- Ilije Garašanina Street,
- Ulica majora Tepića,
- Aberdareva,
- and Kneza Višeslava Street near Košutnjak.
RTS has since filed a criminal complaint against unknown individuals with the First Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade and called on international institutions to intervene.
The students, who initiated the blockade on April 14, have declared they will not end the protest until either:
- a new competition for members of the REM Council (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media) is announced, or
- RTS is shut down entirely.
