(Belgrade) Thousands of Serbs demonstrated in Belgrade on Friday to support President Aleksandar Vucic, faced with the anger of the population after two shootings which left 18 dead in early May.
This rally, resembling an election campaign rally, behind the slogan “Serbia of Hope”, is perceived as the government’s response to the imposing demonstrations which attract tens of thousands of people once a week.
“I trust the people who run this country and that’s why I’m here,” one of the protesters, 82-year-old Branko Marovic, told AFP.
The last time Serbs marched so massively was in 2000, during protests that led to the downfall of Belgrade strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
Mr. Vucic announced for Friday evening “the largest gathering in the history” of Serbia, a country of 6.6 million inhabitants which is negotiating its accession to the European Union.
PHOTO MARKO DJURICA, REUTERS
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic
It will be “a rally where we will try to unite Serbia and show that it has a future,” said the head of state in a video posted on Instagram.
People had been flocking to Belgrade since Friday morning from all over Serbia, by train and in buses. However, human rights organizations and the media say some had been pressured to set off.
The rally takes place in front of the Serbian Parliament, in the center of the capital, where a large boulevard was closed to traffic, as well as many nearby streets.
PHOTO DARKO VOJINOVIC, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Demonstration in Belgrade
“Only Serbia interests me. I live for Serbia,” read posters adorning dozens of stalls set up in the area, along with a portrait of Aleksandar Vucic.
The right and left opposition protests began on the heels of two shootings that occurred in early May and left the country deeply shaken.
In the first, nine students and a guard were killed at a school in Belgrade by a 13-year-old schoolboy. Less than 48 hours later, a young man killed eight people in two villages near Belgrade.
Rows behind the slogan “Serbia against violence”, the demonstrators demand the resignations of the Minister of the Interior and the head of the intelligence services, and protest against violent content in the pro-government media.
From the start, the head of state accused the opposition of “abusing” the situation “for political purposes”.