Opposition parties today are condemning last night’s police intervention at the “See You on Vidovdan” protest, asserting that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is responsible for the violence.
Serbia Centre (SRCE) Blames Vučić
The Serbia Centre (SRCE) party announced that Vučić “bears all responsibility” for the violence at the demonstrations in Belgrade. “With the brutal action by a part of the police, which dispersed students and citizens from the streets of Belgrade in order to protect criminals gathered in Pionirski Park, Vučić has definitively crossed the line of reason,” SRCE stated in a press release.
The statement added that Vučić used Police Director Dragan Vasiljević for “lies, fraud, and deception,” referring to Vasiljević’s claim last night that demonstrators did not allow an ambulance to pass, despite videos showing that a police cordon was blocking it.
“From a president who has declared the entire nation his enemies, who is angry with state universities and would abolish them, who would replace students with those he paid to watch from his office window, one cannot expect him to change his stance and start thinking about a peaceful resolution to the crisis,” SRCE’s statement concluded.
Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia (POKS) Accuses Authorities of Deliberate Force
The Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia (POKS) accused the authorities of deliberately using force at the demonstrations to “suppress popular resistance.” “On Vidovdan, they struck the unarmed Serbian people with batons and tear gas. This is an admission and confirmation that Vučić has no other answer to citizens’ dissatisfaction,” POKS stated. POKS added that the authorities showed last night that they “do not want dialogue.”
Earlier today, the Freedom and Justice Party stated that an attack by a group of people with sticks, “for whom it is possible to assume who sent them,” served as an excuse for the brutal police reaction against all demonstrators.
Casualties and Arrests
Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dačić confirmed that 77 people were detained last night after the protest, with 38 of them remaining in custody. During the re-establishment of public order and peace, 48 police officers were injured, Dačić stated at a press conference.
