A group of about a hundred people, mostly from the Socialist Movement led by Aleksandr Vulin, gathered today in front of the entrance to the courtyard of the N1 television editorial office in Belgrade, N1 reports.
They demanded to enter the N1 studio and present their demands. The police arrived shortly after their arrival and separated the two groups in front of N1 - those protesting against N1 and a group of employees from Airport City, who had come to support the N1 employees.
The protesters withdrew around 13:30 p.m.
They were greeted with shouts of "Bravo," which was conveyed to them by employees from Airport City.
N1 employees bowed to the citizens of Airport City who had come earlier to support N1.
During the protest, those gathered carried banners reading "Where is your boss" and chanting "We will not give up Serbia."
From the street and from their windows, Airport City employees responded to the assembled group with shouts of "woo" and "pump." They also chanted "learn, learn" and "dads, dads."
N1 program director Igor Božić said that he would not invite protesters to the N1 studio because government officials are not coming, and they have invited them many times.
Božić also said that he was pleasantly surprised by the reaction of Airport City employees.
"This is an own goal by Aleksandar Vučić or whoever came up with this action. I am pleasantly surprised by the reaction of employees from companies operating in Airport City. I have to thank them, it shows support, and on the other hand, an atmosphere in society that N1 shows and reports on. You can't see that on nationally broadcast media," said Božić.
Regarding the group of about 100 people who blocked the entrance to the N1 building, Božić said that he did not know who these people were, but that they had come in an organized manner.
Christmas: The gathering was organized by Vulin
Among those gathered, according to N1, was the provincial secretary for social protection, Predrag Vuletić, from the Movement of Socialists, as well as Miroslav Rodić and Ivan Siler, also from the party led by Aleksandar Vulin.
"The gathering was not spontaneous. We can say with certainty that the protest was organized by Aleksandar Vulin," Božić said, according to N1.
Božić said that they at N1 did not know that such a gathering had been announced, but the fact is that the police knew, because they were there before their arrival.
"They were informed about that gathering, those people were behind them," Božić said.
According to Božić, no one communicated with N1 journalists who asked them why they came.
"I assume someone will speak up and say why they are here," he said.
As he assessed, we are experiencing a situation of unnecessary tension, recalling that after the blockade of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), the "regime's elite" constantly called out when N1 would be blocked.
"This is obviously the regime's response to that. It is evident that this is a distraction from the events surrounding the student demonstrations and that the regime is trying to show that pro-regime media are not the only problem, but that for its supporters, independent media are also a problem," Božić believes.
Siler said that their request to be admitted to N1
The person who said that their request was for N1 to welcome them into the studio to say what they had was Ivan Siler, assistant to the mayor of Novi Sad.
He, however, did not want to introduce himself when asked.
The police do not answer N1's question about who they are protecting in front of N1.
They say they are not authorized to make statements.
The N1 reporter tried to find out who the people who had gathered in front of the television gate were.
Several of them didn't want to say anything, and then one man asked to be admitted to the studio.
"If you want us to give you a statement, welcome us into the studio so we can tell you who we are," he said.
The crowd shouts "Serbia".
"We have decided not to make any statements," they say.
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