Serbia’s capital is bracing for another student-led protest aimed at pressuring President Aleksandar Vučić to call snap parliamentary elections. This follows nearly eight months of demonstrations that have shaken his firm grip on power, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The Belgrade protest is organized by students, considered a key force in the fight against corruption. The widespread blockades began after a canopy collapsed at the renovated Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024, killing 16 people. Many have blamed widespread government corruption and negligence in state infrastructure projects for the collapse, leading to repeated mass protests.
Government’s Stance and Counter-Measures
Vučić and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party have rejected the demand for snap elections, accusing demonstrators of planning to incite violence on foreign orders, without specifying the source, the AP reports.
The agency notes that hours before the student rally, Vučić’s party bused in dozens of its supporters to Belgrade, many wearing T-shirts emblazoned with: “We will not give up on Serbia.“
Earlier this week, the AP recalls, police arrested several individuals accused of allegedly planning to overthrow the government and, without explanation, barred entry to the country for several people from Croatia and a theater director from Montenegro. The Serbian railway company also halted trains due to an alleged bomb threat, which critics have called an obvious attempt to prevent people from traveling to Belgrade for the rally. Authorities took similar steps in March, before a March 15 gathering considered the largest anti-government rally in Serbia.
Past Protests and Allegations
Vučić’s loyalists, the AP writes, then set up a camp in a park in front of his office, which remains there. A peaceful gathering on March 15 abruptly ended when some people suddenly dispersed in panic, leading to accusations that authorities used sonic weapons against peaceful demonstrators, though authorities deny this.
