Hundreds of thousands of people protested in Belgrade yesterday against the regime of President Aleksandar Vučić, and the largest rally in Serbia in the 21st century ended earlier than planned, after an incident in front of Pioneer Park.
Those gathered did not present any new demands, but the massive scale of the protest is a clear message that they want a different Serbia.
The incident occurred shortly after 19 p.m., when, according to the students, bottles, rocks, and cannon fire flew from the direction of the park.
"Our security guards have taken off their vests. We appeal to citizens to retreat to safety," the "Students in Blockade" Instagram page posted, along with a message that the protest is over.
To the reporter from "Vijesti", who reported that the stones and bottles flew from the direction of Pionirski Park, the students told them that the incidents were provoked and that they could no longer organize a protest and that it was up to the police to protect the citizens.
Student security guards told a reporter for "Vijesti" that a "Million" action had been declared, which means leaving the rally if someone decides to resort to violence or incidents. They allegedly received information that the demonstrators wanted to burn tractors that had appeared around Pionirski Park two mornings ago, many without license plates.
Previously, there was a crowd and pushing between the Gendarmerie and protesters, who tried to enter the park...
A group of young men in dark clothing, with masks and poles, walked down the street, and two men were detained. Earlier in the day, a larger group of people dressed in black, with caps on their heads and poles in their hands, was also spotted in Belgrade...
After the official declaration of the end of the protest, military veterans and bikers who had been providing security during yesterday's protest withdrew with the students, and the plateau in front of the Parliament, according to media reports, was taken over by provocateurs.
Students who allegedly want to study have been camping in Pioneer Park for days, including former members of the notorious former Red Berets police unit, but also, as reported by numerous media outlets, a group of suspected Kosovo Serbs and other, mostly older, alleged Vučić loyalists.
President of the Assembly of Serbia Ana Brnabic She rejected accusations that the attack was carried out by someone gathered at the camp, saying that "extremists" attacked both the students at the blockade and the students in the park.
"It is a lie that anyone from Pioneer Park attacked anyone. Clear evidence that extremists attacked both students at the blockades and students in Pioneer Park. Violence will not be allowed."
Did the sound cannon work?
The incident also occurred during a fifteen-minute silence at Slavija for the fifteen victims of the collapse of the bus station canopy in Novi Sad. The silence was reportedly broken by a “sound cannon,” which caused panic and a stampede in one of the streets.
Military analyst Aleksandar Radić He explained to N1 that it is an American non-lethal, aggressive, sonic weapon that is intended to disable a target, or rather, to be used for incapacitation. He claims that this weapon has been in the possession of the Serbian security system for years.
"The biggest problem in tonight's event is - who came up with the idea to use such weapons? In a situation when all the demonstrators were peaceful, when a fifteen-minute message was being delivered to the victims, weapons were used. The only goal of this act is a brutal display of force, proof of arrogance, and the motive is hatred towards one's own people," said Radić.
A retired MP and general Zdravko Ponoš He said that, according to the information he received, a sonic weapon was used:
"The reaction of the crowd, that they felt as if something had passed by them, is a consequence of the use of sound, with the aim of scaring them... The use of these weapons can also be harmful to health, and the fact that they were used at a time when the mail was being delivered to the victims is a complete scandal."
The Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs denied that a sound cannon was used, as this is illegal, and announced that the authorities would determine what happened...
They stated that at several locations in the center of Belgrade, incidents and fights occurred between some of the protest participants, who, as they claim, repeatedly attacked police officers, "attempting to prevent them from performing their duties and to cause greater unrest."
"Members of the Ministry of the Interior are taking all measures and actions within their jurisdiction to prevent further escalation of these incidents, preserve public order and peace, protect citizens and maintain security."
After the students' message that the protest was officially over, most of them headed to their faculties, but some of the crowd remained on the streets and in front of the Serbian Parliament.
A reporter for "Vijesti" testified that burning flares were thrown towards Pioneer Park, from which red and white smoke billowed.
Cannon shots were occasionally heard.
At around 20.45:1 p.m., the Gendarmerie set off in Humvee combat vehicles from the Faculty of Law towards the city center, in the direction of the Parliament, but they soon stopped. An NXNUMX reporter reported that they received an order to lower their shields and that they soon abandoned that position.
Citizens chanted: "Arrest Vučić", "He's finished".
Half a million people on the streets?
Lawyer and former Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia Bozo Prelevic He announced that half a million people protested yesterday.
"As someone who participated on October 5th, I have to say that there are more people here and according to my belief, there are more than 500.000 people at the protest. I can't estimate, because it's simply unfathomable...", he told Nova.rs.
According to police estimates, around 107.000 people participated in yesterday's gatherings in Belgrade, of which, they say, the largest number came from the interior.
They will no longer allow corruption to endanger anyone's life, nor for officials of any party to attack students in an organized manner, was the message from the protest in Belgrade, held under the slogan "15 for 15".
The rally was held at the invitation of students who have been blocking universities across the country for three and a half months, demanding political and legal responsibility for the deaths of 15 people in a canopy collapse in Novi Sad.
Gatherings were organized at several locations in the city, from where citizens in columns with Serbian flags, banners and whistles started walking to the parliament. The massive scale of the protest is also evidenced by the fact that the organizers invited citizens to come to Slavija yesterday afternoon, because it was no longer possible to approach the parliament.
Thousands of students arrived in Belgrade on foot from numerous cities in Serbia, along with cyclists and motorcyclists, while yesterday they were joined by citizens from all over Serbia.
"We have delivered letters to the public prosecutor Zagorki Dolovac". Our demands were sent to the prosecutor's office. They trampled on us. We took to the streets with even more motivation. We welcomed the New Year on the streets. Mostar, RTS, Autokomanda, the resignations of the Prime Minister and Mayor of Novi Sad. Almost three months after the tragedy," said one student.
She recalled that they walked 80 kilometers to reach Novi Sad, and then to Kragujevac, Novi Pazar and Niš, "which was the overture to today's Belgrade."
"Look where we are, look how many of us there are! Your voice counts! We hear your voice! May your voice last! Let's wake up Serbia together! Let's persevere in the fight for students, farmers, educators, lawyers, pharmacists, doctors, actors, artists, journalists, engineers, for all the lives we have lost and for those we would have lost if we had continued to remain silent. The night is darkest before the dawn. Until the demands are met!", said the student in a speech at a large protest in Belgrade.
A student at Slavija said that they are here "because they have suffered for too long but they will not do it anymore", nor will they allow corruption to endanger anyone's life.
"We are here because we will no longer allow you to deprive us of our freedom, because we protect each other, just as you deprived the student Rely and other citizens at the protest in Novi Sad. We are here because we will no longer allow officials of any party to attack students in an organized manner, as they attacked students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts,” she said.
In her speech, the student emphasized that students will no longer allow themselves to be trampled upon, as they trampled upon musicians of the Belgrade Philharmonic, doctors, and female students. Sonja and Kristina...
"We are here because we will no longer allow you to beat us with the batons you keep in the party premises, like you beat the student." Anu"We are here because we will no longer allow them to lie about us and insult us, as the public media service and the top state have done since the very beginning of the student blockades. We are here because we will no longer allow you to hand out dismissals for posts on social networks, as you did to EPS workers."
The students who organized the rally last night provided support to educational workers and assessed that teachers and tutors are suffering great pressure from the authorities and are existentially threatened.
One of the students told those gathered at Slavija that educators are "defending their dignity against the government that is blackmailing them."
"Educators are the backbone of society, they teach us freedom and courage. Our teachers are existentially threatened. They are trying to make them invisible, all because the government cannot stand thinking people and those who ask questions," the student said, as reported by Beta.
Due to the suspension of classes, many teachers have not received their salaries, or their earnings have been reduced...
The students also brought a three-meter-tall Trojan horse figure to the protest, which had a message on it that read: “Citizens are the bearers of sovereignty.” Many of the students had walked to Belgrade a few days ago, arriving on Friday evening.
About ten days before the protest, a group called "Students 2.0" gathered in Pionirski Park, organizing a protest camp in Belgrade, demanding an end to the blockades of the faculties.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić He called on "Students 2.0" to remove the camp for 24 hours while the academics and citizens protest, but they refused.
Government representatives and regime media have been accusing students for days of wanting to provoke bloodshed, and have announced arrests if the protest turns violent.
Vuković banned from entering Serbia for a year
MP and DPS vice president Ivan Vuković was detained yesterday in Belgrade and banned from entering Serbia due to an alleged security threat.
Vuković announced last night that he had returned to Montenegro:
"After I was given a one-year ban on entering Serbia - with the correct attitude of BIA officers - I returned to Montenegro. I hope that when I am in Serbia again, it will not be a country where people are detained for posts on social networks. PS - always with students," Vuković wrote on Iks.
He also thanked everyone who, as he said, showed interest and supported him during the day.
Vuković was released after a few hours, Deputy Prime Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Filip Ivanović announced earlier yesterday.
"In a conversation with my colleague Marko Đurić, I was informed that the MP of the Parliament of Montenegro, Ivan Vuković, is at large and on his way to Montenegro," Ivanović wrote on the X network.
The DPS announced that Vuković's arrest was announced by "the ideologue of the current Serbian government, Vojislav Šešelj."
"They are clearly big eyes in fear, so big that they are afraid of a university professor and an MP and see him as a threat to the constitutional order. After all, when you are arrested on the orders of Šešelj, you know that you are on the right side of the political struggle."
DPS told "Vijesti" earlier yesterday that Vuković was detained while leaving the Hilton Hotel, and that he told BIA members that he was in Belgrade to accompany a family member who was there for health reasons.
On Friday evening, Vuković shared a video on his Facebook page in support of students protesting in Belgrade.
Prime Minister Milojko Spajić said that the state will always stand by its citizens in every situation, but that it does not support interference by Montenegrin officials in the internal politics of other countries.
He said that the competent authorities reacted promptly towards their colleagues from Serbia.
Picula: A government that tries to stop the truth is not democratic
Croatian MEP Tonino Picula, the European Parliament's rapporteur for Serbia, criticized Serbian authorities yesterday after a group of journalistic teams, including Croatian ones, were stopped at the border the day before on the grounds that they posed a security risk ahead of a major protest.
Picula characterized the incident as evidence of the authorities' undemocratic behavior, warning that such measures cannot prevent the spread of the truth.
"Journalists can be stopped at the border, but the truth can hardly be stopped at the border. A government that tries to stop the truth is certainly not democratic, but it obviously has a reason to try to stop the truth about itself so that it is not forwarded to the world," said Picula.
Referring to the protest, Picula said that it was not clear "whether this is a stage of the protests or their culmination."
He also stated that "escalating the conflict itself" is not in the interest of either the protesters or the authorities.
Vučić: We got the message, we will have to change
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he was pleased that a large protest was held in Belgrade, with "enormous and negative energy and anger and rage expressed towards the authorities", and that there were no casualties or serious injuries.
He said that they understood the message well and that everyone in government must understand it when so many people gather.
"We will have to change ourselves and learn a lot," Vučić said at a press conference late last night.
However, he said that the citizens of Serbia do not want "colored revolutions" or violence, and that they want to change the government in the elections.
He specified that 22 people were arrested for crimes against the property of other people and the state, attacks on police officers and other people.
He said that 56 people sought medical assistance at health facilities.
He said that there was a fight between protesters on Nikola Pašić Square and that the person was seriously injured.
Vučić said that the Army estimated that 88.000 people attended the protest, the police estimated 107.000, and the BIA estimated "something in between."
"A surprisingly large number of people came from the interior of the country."
He assessed that the accusations that someone used a "sonic cannon" were shameful.
He said that "it would have been difficult to prevent the bloodshed" if there had not been tractors to stop the crowd at Pioneer Park.
He repeated claims that today's protest was an attempt to carry out a "color revolution."
He pointed out that he was proud that "99 percent" of the students in the blockade did not want incidents.
"I don't think particularly well of those who violate the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of movement. I don't think particularly well of all their political actions and everything, but I am satisfied because I realized that these young people, almost all of them, did not want to participate in implementing measures of violence, of violence... They also left the rally tonight, after the first incidents, of course after the quarrels among themselves and with opposition activists, and said 'this is not ours anymore', when they realized that they no longer had control over the rally."
He said that today "Serbia won" and that they "managed to preserve peace", and that they had to deal with "much of what was hidden behind everything".
Bonus video:
