Serbian Minister of the Interior, Ivica Dačić, stated that 13 people were arrested last night in Belgrade.
Belgrade welcomed cyclists and columns of student pedestrians from several cities and regions of Serbia, who participated in the multi-day marathon “March for Serbia” to attend a large rally in Belgrade scheduled for today.
“It is in our interest to ensure security, and the security services of the students who are blocking the roads have a great responsibility and must cooperate with the police on the ground,” Dačić told RTS.
“There were several incidents overnight, 13 people were detained. No one is allowed to beat others, no one is allowed to occupy institutions,” Dačić said.
A large protest rally under the slogan “15 for 15,” called by the students, is scheduled for 4:00 PM in Belgrade.
“So, this is just the final part of all the activities we’ve had. We issued a statement tonight, even though the students announced the conclusion at a specific time. But there are different groups that you cannot even say who they belong to,” Dačić added.
He emphasized that they had issues with these groups all night, and several incidents took place.
“There were several incidents during the night. I think 13 people were detained. Some people were arrested for disturbing the public order. All these incidents led toward Pioneer Park. Most of the tractors were damaged. There were attempts to set fire to those tractors. If it was a case of setting fire in the physical sense, it was an attempt to set them on fire by overturning the tractor, pushing it into the street, shooting at participants of the rally in Pioneer Park, and shooting at the police,” Dačić emphasized.
In Pioneer Park, a counter-protest is being held by some students who are against the ongoing protests in Belgrade regarding the incident at the Novi Sad train station where 15 people died due to the collapse of a concrete shelter.
