On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across Serbia. They expressed their increasing discontent with President Aleksandar Vucic’s government. This new wave of protests comes after the tragic incident in Novi Sad last November. The calamity killed 16 people and sparked a wave of public outrage that toppled the federal government’s response. Protesters blame Vucic for corruption and negligence in big infrastructure projects and require responsibility and change.
Aleksandar Vucic has, as he himself likes to boast, been in power for 12 years. He heads a rightwing coalition that makes up 156 of the 250 parliamentary seats. His present term is scheduled to end in 2027. He has rejected demands for snap elections, which has only fueled public anger further. Publicly, many Serbians hold the government’s failures responsible for what happened in Novi Sad, and these sentiments have fostered broader demands for reform.
In recent weeks, Vucic’s government has been under increasing pressure as protests have spilled over on the street across the Eastern European nation. Things took a drastic turn at a ͞family friendly ͟ rally on Saturday, where riot police eventually were forced to use tear gas to disperse mass gatherings. The protests have featured Vucic’s opponents mobilizing en masse to oppose, as they define it, an increasingly authoritarian and catastrophic regime.
The direct and successful impact of the protests has not gone unnoticed by the hardline government. To date, Vucic has accused “foreign powers” of orchestrating the demonstrations in an attempt to destroy his administration. His office has been a heavily fortified citadel with a loyalist encampment set up since mid-March, suggesting a bunker mentality and deep fear of dissent.
Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned at the beginning of the year. He was under severe pressure from those increasingly powerful protests, which were personally tied to Vucic. This resignation underscored the growing internecine war in government as popular opposition mounts day by day against this fledgling regime. Yet Vucic’s administration has consistently bulldozed over public opposition on controversial steps. Their unilateral entry bans of some people from Croatia and of one Montenegrin theatre director have further exacerbated this tension.
In response to growing anti-government sentiments, Vucic’s party is feverishly busing in partisans from across the land. Their stated goal is to strengthen participation in counter-protests. They have expressed their position quite clearly, chanting even in Belgrade Fortress such slogans as “We will not surrender Serbia.”
“We won’t give up Serbia.” – Vucic’s party supporters
As we enter the third week of protests, the government is doubling down with an increasingly violent response. Authorities have arrested over 200 individuals including those allegedly planning uprisings to topple Vucic’s regime. This decision reflects the deepening worry over the security of his presidency.
