Serbian President Aleksandar Vučič on Sunday insisted that he would not retreat 140,000 demonstratorswho gathered in Belgrade at night and demanded to announce early elections. On the contrary, he promised that the security forces would continue to arrest after the struggles broke out between the demonstrators and the police. According to the AFP report, TASR reports this.
“Serbia has won and you cannot beat Serbia by force as some wanted,” He declared Vučič and accused the students of the movement of “terror”. He has therefore promised that there would be further arrest in connection with the violence. “There will be no negotiations with terrorists and those who want to destroy the state come responsibility,” Vučič declared. “Revenge must not be our language, but responsibility must be part of our consciousness,” added.
Saturday’s protest was one of the largest in more than half a year of demonstrations that caused the November roof collapse at the Railway Station in Nový Sad. In this misfortune, 16 people died and many blame the corruption of the current Serbian government.
Unlike previous gatherings, there were clashes between demonstrators and order police on Saturday. AFP claims to have seen State against protesters use tear gas and batons. The demonstrators threw flares and bottles at the cops.
The authorities stated that after the protest, 48 members of the Police Force remained wounded, one of them seriously. The number of protesters was estimated at 36,000. However, the public gathering archive, which monitors the size of the crowds, said on the X platform that there were “about 140,000 people present in the protest organized by students. Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačič declared that 22 people had to seek medical assistance and two were seriously injured. At least 77 people arrested the police.
Before Saturday’s protest They gave students Vučič’s “ultimatum” with a date until 21:00. (CEST), three hours after the beginning of the protest at one of the main Belgrade Squares. However, Vučič has already rejected students’ requirements for instant elections on Friday. He stated that the national elections would not take place before the end of 2026.
