The president of Serbia, the nationalist Aleksandar Vucicthis Saturday before thousands of his followers has announced end of the “colored revolution”, as refers to the wave of demonstrations that for five months denounce corruption and authoritarianism of his government.
“We demand from the competent bodies and the prosecutors who do their work, within their constitutional powers, to restore peace in the country,” Vucic said in the central act of launching his ‘movement for the people and the State’, a reaction to the massive protests against him and his government.
Protests in vain
The populist leader thus insisted on his promise that the law will be applied against whom – he considerates – commit violent acts with their protestsalthough marches and actions, led by university students, have been mostly peaceful. “All the next student protests will be in vain,” Vucic warned.
The president already assured Thursday that his mistake had been not to “immediately oppose” protests as, he said, his “Chinese friends.”
The protests began after the collapse on November 1 of the roof of a train station, which had just been remodeled by Chinese companies, which caused the death of 16 people.
Against authoritarianism
The initial demand for purification of political and judicial responsibilities has been transformed into a claim of more democracy And an accusation of growing authoritarianism and corruption of the Gobierno de Vucic.
President Vucic, who dominates Serbian policy since 2012, whose administration has been considered corrupt and authoritative by students and a large number of citizens, read to those present the demands of the newly founded movement, among which the main one is that Serbia “is unlocked from blockages.”
Thus, he claimed that university students return to class and interrupt the blockages and occupations of numerous universities to, said, guarantee the right to education.
Although the police have not yet given participants figures and the pro -government media are limited to saying that there were a large number “of attendees, Efe could verify that the city center and the streets near the Parliament, where the act was held, were full, although less than during the massive anti -government march of last March 15. Throughout the area there was a strong police presence and the traffic was cut.
The central Kneza Milosa street was full of buses from all the cities of the country.
“Defend our president”
“If it weren’t for Vucic, there would be no roads, factories or our pensions. We came to support and defend our president,” said Svetlana, 67. Several present confirmed that they were there to defend Vucic and Serbia, although without mentioning what or who.
Among those present a cheerful atmosphere reigned throughout the day. They sang, They carried Serbian flags and chanted “Aco, Serbio!” (Aleksandar, great Serbian). However, people were not very friendly with the informants. In the few posters that citizens carried, it was mostly read “We do not deliver Serbia!”.
The president of the Serbian entity of Bosnia, Milorad Dodik, also participated in the eventdespite the arrest warrant issued against him by the Bosnia-Herzegovina court for his secessionist policies. “Serbia is today the word of freedom, the word of hope. We are proud to be Serbs, not Serbs of Bosnia, but part of the Serbian people,” Dodik said on stage in front of Parliament. The separatist and pro -corrido leader added that Serbia should not lose the fight in the streets, and that in these difficult times there is no better leader for the country than Vucic.
At the same time, in Novi Pázar, in southern Serbia, tens of thousands of students and other citizens gathered to claim again that political and judicial responsibilities for the collapse at the train station are purified.
