Frustration has built up over Serbia’s roller coaster response to the coronavirus epidemic.
Belgrade, Serbia:
For many Serbs, this was the last drop: when the president announced the resumption of a weekend curfew to fight the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of people took to the streets in anger.
Who are these protesters and what caused the outrage? And could the demonstrations, which have degenerated into violence, endanger the power of President Aleksandar Vucic, whom critics accuse of increasing authoritarianism?
Why are people protesting?
Frustration has built up over Serbia’s roller coaster response to the coronavirus epidemic.
After initially minimizing the dangers, the authorities went from an ultra-tight lock to a rapid return to normal last month before the national elections that cemented Vucic’s grip on power.
Critics accuse Vucic of a second wave of infections, which exploded after the June 21 vote.
“Our government is just looking after its own interests, people are just collateral damage,” said Jelina Jankovic, a protester.
Serbia has reported some 370 deaths but many people accuse the authorities of falsifying the figures, which the government denies.
Vucic announced Tuesday the return of a 24-hour curfew to fight the second wave.
“We have relaxed too much, made many mistakes, and it is an individual blame for all of us,” he said.
Police officer fires tear gas canister during clashes with protesters near National Assembly building in Belgrade
Protesters outraged by the fingerings then invaded the center of the capital the same evening.
As the government returned to the curfew, protests continued against a leader accused of trampling on democratic institutions in Serbia.
“The pressure cooker is exploding,” said Serbian journalist Bonn Nemanja Rujevic, adding that the “disjointed” management of the health crisis has aggravated long-standing frustration with the authoritarian regime of Vucic.
Who protests?
The protests were not led by any particular party, with groups ranging from the left to the far right.
There are young people and families as well as groups holding religious icons and flags of the former Serbian province of Kosovo.
On Tuesday, the first day of protests, a far-right front-line group burst into Parliament, sparking clashes with the police with tears drawn.
Most nights start peacefully before bands of protesters throw stones, flares and firecrackers at the police.
Thursday, some demonstrators sat in front of the Parliament to show that they came in peace. Many of them accuse the state of planting “provocateurs” to discredit them.
“I am always in favor of peaceful demonstrations because violence breeds violence and that is not why we came,” said Tijana Milojevic, 30.
Analysts say these divisions could affect the move.
“If no political leadership is identified, the protests are likely to die,” as they could be hijacked by the far right, causing loss of popular support, or spawning multiple opposing factions, said law professor Bosko Tripkovic. ‘University. from Birmingham.
Is Vucic threatened?
Probably not.
From Prime Minister to President, Vucic has steadily increased his powers over the past eight years.
This was accompanied by radical media control with numerous television channels and tabloids serving as propaganda relays, according to Freedom House, based in the United States, which no longer considers Serbia as a democracy.
National broadcaster RTS skipped the first night of protests and released a Jackie Chan film.
“Previous demonstrations in Serbia have shown that the government can tolerate several months of peaceful protests by several thousand people – as long as it controls the media story,” said Rujevic.
The main opposition camp boycotted the June elections, which means that Vucic’s party firmly controls the parliament.
At the moment, the crowd is not large enough to worry the president, said Florian Bieber, Balkan expert from the University of Graz.
“With the opposition divided, it cannot become a serious threat to the government,” said Bieber.
– How did the state react?
Scenes of police brutality captured on television went viral, including an incident that occurred on Tuesday in which police officers used batons to beat three men seated peacefully on a bench.
However, the Serbian mediator said that “no excessive force was used” to quell the protests.
Vucic called the protesters “criminal thugs” and made vague accusations of “foreign interference”.
The pro-government tabloids spoke of “Russian interference”.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
