Andrej Cukic / EPA
Aleksandar Vucic, Presidente to Sérvia
President promises decisive measures against protesters who nine months ago accuse the government of being authoritarian and corrupt.
The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucić, promised this Sunday “surprising” measures e decisive against protesters nine months ago they accuse the government of being authoritarian and corrupt, and who compared Nazis and terrorists.
“You will see the determination of the Serbian State. We will do everything possible to restore order and peace. We will face all external pressures, all those who threaten us and tell us what we can and cannot do, ”he said in a press conference, in which he described the behavior of protesters as “Authentic terrorism.”
The ongoing massive protests, led by university students, became violent In recent days, with attacks on the headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party (NHS), the Vučić party, and confrontation with the president’s police and supporters, causing dozens of injuries and detainees.
The Interior Ministry announced that 56 violent protesters were arrested and six police officers were injured during Saturday night’s disturbances in Belgrade, Novo Sad and Valjevo, where the prosecutor’s building was set on fire.
Vučić, who has been in power for 13 years, said that “Bandits” They occupied the streets and predicted that protesters will soon start committing murders.
“If we do not take decisive measures, they will start killing us, I say this without exaggeration,” he said.
The president rejected Declare status of emergency, arguing that such a measure is very complex and requires the approval of the parliament, where it holds absolute majority.
Without explaining what I meant, he said that there are other measures he can take and that he needs a few days to “prepare the state’s reaction from a legal and formal point of view.”
Vučić compared the situation in Serbia at the time nazis They consolidated power in Germany through terror in the 1930s.
In the last four days, the demonstrations have become violent, after more than 80 protesters were injured on Wednesday, in which they described as brutal attacks of “bandits” of the National Workers’ National Union (SNS) and police against peaceful citizens.
In a message published on Friday night, the Commissioner for the Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, regretted “the disproportionate use of force by police” and reiterated the appeal to the authorities to “avoid overuse of force, end up with arbitrary arrests and reduce tensions.”
According to the government, violence was caused exclusively by protesterssupposedly supported by Western countries.
The wave of mass protests began after the collapse of a ceiling in the newly remedied Novo Sad Railway Station, on November 1 last year, killing 16 people.
The initial requirement for liability e transparency Regarding the award and execution of the project, carried out by Chinese companies, it became a complaint of government authoritarianism and the complaint for improvements in the rule of law and the realization of early elections.
