Berliner Boersenzeitung - 'No going back': Serbia protests heap pressure on government

EUR -
AED 3.997878
AFN 77.155421
ALL 99.252542
AMD 426.209692
ANG 1.961054
AOA 995.398228
ARS 1163.438559
AUD 1.719263
AWG 1.961958
AZN 1.873588
BAM 1.950889
BBD 2.19697
BDT 132.207193
BGN 1.956701
BHD 0.410181
BIF 3224.523614
BMD 1.088465
BND 1.450442
BOB 7.518865
BRL 6.158208
BSD 1.088061
BTN 93.90205
BWP 14.802765
BYN 3.56092
BYR 21333.913848
BZD 2.185658
CAD 1.560897
CDF 3123.894448
CHF 0.957234
CLF 0.026036
CLP 999.23298
CNY 7.870419
CNH 7.872992
COP 4523.910855
CRC 542.324833
CUC 1.088465
CUP 28.844322
CVE 110.669698
CZK 24.991247
DJF 193.442399
DKK 7.459349
DOP 68.736306
DZD 145.651373
EGP 55.120193
ERN 16.326975
ETB 140.493654
FJD 2.490296
FKP 0.83818
GBP 0.838847
GEL 3.020473
GGP 0.83818
GHS 16.868852
GIP 0.83818
GMD 78.456366
GNF 9411.546975
GTQ 8.387874
GYD 227.939967
HKD 8.457514
HNL 27.845392
HRK 7.546436
HTG 142.804423
HUF 396.136395
IDR 18006.372087
ILS 3.990884
IMP 0.83818
INR 94.184133
IQD 1424.256461
IRR 45747.395801
ISK 145.139794
JEP 0.83818
JMD 170.321554
JOD 0.771744
JPY 162.879533
KES 140.874255
KGS 95.441212
KHR 4365.955141
KMF 490.021274
KPW 979.544187
KRW 1579.882802
KWD 0.335227
KYD 0.905127
KZT 542.293556
LAK 23554.497374
LBP 97484.078794
LKR 322.377911
LRD 217.608236
LSL 19.711365
LTL 3.213955
LVL 0.658402
LYD 5.240708
MAD 10.485512
MDL 19.760269
MGA 5071.772258
MKD 61.308725
MMK 2284.730943
MNT 3784.694798
MOP 8.710448
MRU 43.239255
MUR 48.912463
MVR 16.810621
MWK 1886.631854
MXN 21.814961
MYR 4.837313
MZN 69.534635
NAD 19.711365
NGN 1677.441368
NIO 40.044204
NOK 11.526208
NPR 150.76525
NZD 1.880798
OMR 0.419015
PAB 1.088465
PEN 3.954395
PGK 4.474433
PHP 62.356692
PKR 304.905023
PLN 4.164727
PYG 8650.939436
QAR 3.962255
RON 4.95791
RSD 116.756103
RUB 90.027271
RWF 1547.009733
SAR 4.082287
SBD 9.266682
SCR 15.653056
SDG 654.061032
SEK 11.009355
SGD 1.449903
SHP 0.855363
SLE 24.833326
SLL 22824.567833
SOS 621.447856
SRD 39.637249
STD 22529.027737
SVC 9.524442
SYP 14152.089365
SZL 19.711365
THB 36.578216
TJS 11.863475
TMT 3.807177
TND 3.351969
TOP 2.620649
TRY 41.266848
TTD 7.390637
TWD 35.922522
TZS 2875.155966
UAH 45.24119
UGX 3990.368233
USD 1.088465
UYU 45.822562
UZS 14080.441979
VES 71.990297
VND 27809.529348
VUV 133.731536
WST 3.048869
XAF 653.361699
XAG 0.032352
XAU 0.000358
XCD 2.946798
XDR 0.815484
XOF 653.361699
XPF 119.331742
YER 268.391361
ZAR 19.756456
ZMK 9797.499505
ZMW 31.268382
ZWL 350.485283
  • RBGPF

    0.2700

    66.7

    +0.4%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.24

    +0.09%

  • SCS

    0.1300

    11.06

    +1.18%

  • RYCEF

    0.1500

    10.66

    +1.41%

  • RELX

    0.3600

    49.35

    +0.73%

  • RIO

    -0.2800

    63.86

    -0.44%

  • CMSD

    0.0000

    23.39

    0%

  • BCC

    1.0200

    100.36

    +1.02%

  • VOD

    -0.0600

    9.78

    -0.61%

  • AZN

    -0.7500

    76.32

    -0.98%

  • GSK

    -0.8400

    39.55

    -2.12%

  • BCE

    -0.4100

    23.37

    -1.75%

  • NGG

    0.0000

    63.81

    0%

  • JRI

    0.0300

    13.01

    +0.23%

  • BTI

    -0.0700

    41.19

    -0.17%

  • BP

    0.3900

    34.61

    +1.13%

'No going back': Serbia protests heap pressure on government
'No going back': Serbia protests heap pressure on government / Photo: Andrej ISAKOVIC - AFP

'No going back': Serbia protests heap pressure on government

Serbia's embattled government is facing a watershed moment, analysts said Monday, after a massive student-led rally in Belgrade over endemic corruption saw the capital engulfed by a sea of demonstrators.

Text size:

Between 100,000 and 300,000 people are estimated to have taken part on Saturday, in the biggest turn-out yet since a deadly roof collapse at a railway station last year sparked a national protest movement.

Fears of violence and clashes with counter-protesters failed to materialise, despite days of pro-government rhetoric, including that the students were plotting a "coup".

But there was controversy over claims the authorities targeted protesters with an unknown auditory crowd-control device that briefly caused panic and prompted calls for an investigation.

Social media footage showed a street crowd part immediately for unknown reasons, prompting claims, denied by the government, that they were targeted with a sonic weapon or sound cannon.

As Belgrade cleaned up discarded tents and vandalised tractors on Monday and the protesters mulled their next move, political analysts said a line had been crossed.

"The massive turnout confirms that dissatisfaction is immense and that there is no going back to the old ways," Maja Kovacevic, the dean of Belgrade's Faculty of Political Science, told AFP.

"Saturday's protest marked the beginning of the end for the regime and represents a major victory for the student movement and the citizens," added political analyst Srdjan Cvijic of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.

"Despite attempts to deter people from coming to Belgrade through various threats, we witnessed the largest gathering in Serbia's history. Fear has changed sides."

- Vucic defiant -

The protest movement formed after 15 people were killed in a railway station roof collapse in the city of Novi Sad in November following massive government-backed renovations on the facility.

The disaster unleashed long-building rage over alleged corruption and lax oversight in construction projects, prompting the resignation of several high-ranking officials, including the prime minister Milos Vucevic.

President Aleksandar Vucic, however, has refused to back down.

Government-backed media outlets broadcast inflammatory accusations in the days leading up to Saturday's protests, claiming a "coup" attempt was being planned.

Vucic himself accused the demonstrators of organising "large-scale violence" and remained defiant on Monday.

He wrote on social media that he would not give into "Maidan" like pressure, referring to the 2014 mass protests in Ukraine that overthrew the country's pro-Kremlin leader Viktor Yanukovych.

"Serbia will prevail!" Vucic wrote on Instagram.

- Investigations -

Serbia's police, defence ministries, the security agency and the government have all firmly denied using a sound cannon, which emits deafening bursts of ear-piercing noise and is designed to control unruly crowds.

But students want a swift investigation and petitions have circulated demanding an official probe by the United Nations.

"With every evil deed, you spread and further reinforce the front against yourself," read one post published by a major student group on X.

 

A separate investigation is currently under way in Serbia into allegations of corruption tied to the renovation project.

More than a dozen indictments have been filed, including one against former construction minister Goran Vesic.

The students have yet to announce their next move after months of criss-crossing the country holding protests in all of Serbia's major cities but indicated there would be no let-up.

"The smarter side doesn't back down, the smarter side organises," a leading student group wrote in a post on social media after Saturday's demonstration.

(F.Schuster--BBZ)