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Serbians protest against government for fourth week

Sunday, 30 December 2018 5:20 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 30 December 2018 5:30 AM ]

Thousands of people, many blowing whistles, hold a banner that reads, “1 out of 5 million,” as they protest against the Serbian president in Belgrade, Serbia, on December 29, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

People in Serbia have staged anti-government demonstrations in the capital, Belgrade, for a fourth week.

Around 25,000 people joined a rally against President Aleksandar Vucic in the Serbian capital on Saturday, according to AFP.

Demonstrators chanted “Vucic, thief” or waved placards that said “Enough lies!” while many blew whistles as a sign of protest.

A protester blows a whistle as thousands protest against the Serbian president in Belgrade, Serbia, on December 22, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

“This is a citizen’s demonstration against the situation in the country, which has been economically and politically complicated, even critical, for a long time,” a protester, Vladimir Tosic, told AFP.

He said the latest protest “united normal Belgrade inhabitants who have come out to voice despair with the situation.”

Vucic, a hard-line nationalist-turned-pro-Europe, is accused by the opposition and civil society of having established autocratic rule and total control over the media, using them to campaign against opponents.

The protests represent the biggest challenge to his rule so far.

Vucic has announced his readiness “to listen to the citizens who are demonstrating but not to opposition liars.”

Opposition parties launched the protests after one of their leaders was beaten ahead of a political gathering in central Serbia last month.

Serbians protest against government for 3rd straight week

Thousands of protesters march in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, against what they say is a crackdown by the government of President Aleksandar Vucic on opposition parties and the media.

The opposition Alliance for Serbia (SZS), an umbrella of parties from across the political spectrum, accused the supporters of Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) to have been behind the attack, a claim the authorities denied.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament has urged Belgrade to make a strong effort to “improve the situation regarding freedom of expression and freedom of the media.”

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