On Wednesday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic called the fire and shooting in the tent camp in front of the Serbian parliament building in the center of the capital Belgrade a “terrorist attack”. One person was injured in the incident, reports TASR according to the report of the AP agency.
- Serbian President Vucic called the incident a heinous terrorist attack.
- The fire and shooting took place in front of the Serbian parliament.
- The detained man faces charges of attempted murder.
- One person was seriously injured in the incident.
- Anti-government protests are a significant threat to Vucic’s government.
The fire broke out on Wednesday morning in the area of the tents in front of the Serbian parliament, which were built in March of this year by Vučić’s followers as an obvious human shield against the anti-government protests, which have been the most serious threat to the president’s government for several months in the whole of Serbia, the agency adds.
The Serbian police reported on Wednesday that they had detained a 70-year-old man on the spot who was shooting towards one of the tents, which subsequently caused a fire. The detainee faces charges of attempted murder, public endangerment and illegal possession of a weapon, police sources added. The camp, colloquially known as “Ćaciland”, includes a row of white tents in and around Pioneer Park (Pionirski park) and a square near the parliament building and the presidential office.
According to Vučič, the attack had a political motive
Vucic himself called the incident a “heinous terrorist attack” and said at a hastily called press conference on Wednesday that it was his “political judgment” because the man “used a firearm to cause public danger and with an undoubted political motive.” Even before Vučič’s newspaper, the pro-government tabloids said that an opponent of the government was behind the fire and shooting, writes AP.
Vucic also released video footage of the incident and the alleged shooter, who admitted upon arrest that he wanted the police to kill him and that he was “upset by the tents.” According to the portal Danas.rs, these tents have been blocking traffic in the area since March, and it is not immediately clear who is actually in them.
“It was a matter of time before it happened,” said Vučić, who has repeatedly accused anti-government protesters of violence, although their protests have been largely peaceful, AP notes.
One person was injured
Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar said one person was seriously injured after being shot by “a man who thinks differently”. However, he did not provide further information.
The incident occurred shortly before a rally planned for November 1 to mark the first anniversary of the collapse of the roof of the train station in Novi Sad, which sparked massive youth-led protests against the Vucic government. A mass rally is planned in Novi Sad, where a roof collapse killed 16 people – mostly students – and was blamed on corruption and construction negligence.
The anti-government protesters demand from Vučič to call early parliamentary elections, which he has so far refused to do.
