• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Monday, May 29, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Democracy at Risk

Thousands Protest Against Serbian President Vucic

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
04/13/19
in Democracy at Risk, Featured, World
Serbian anti-government protesters

Anti-government protesters in Belgrade, Serbia, on April 13, 2019. Photo: YouTube

13
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Thousands of people on Saturday rallied in Belgrade against  President Aleksandar Vucic who they accuse of authoritarianism and muzzling the media.

Police put the number of demonstrators at 7,500, while the opposition estimated tens of thousands had turned out.

Today’s #1od5miliona protest in Belgrade has drawn citizens from across Serbia, including the city of Kragujevac and municipality of Mladenovac. pic.twitter.com/D1IaRCfjNY

— Balkan Insight (@BalkanInsight) April 13, 2019

Protests have been held weekly in the Balkan country since December against what critics describe as Vucic’s slide towards autocratic rule.

Protesters blew whistles and chanted “thieves, thieves!” as speakers, who addressed the crowd, accused the regime of corruption and oppression of media freedoms.

The crowd then marched from the national parliament to the government building.

Local media reported that in many Serbian cities and towns transport companies had refused to rent buses to opposition supporters, fearing reprisals from the authorities.

Vucic, an ultra-nationalist-turned-pro European, has rejected claims he has become autocratic. In response to Saturday’s protest he has scheduled rally of his own supporters for next Friday in Belgrade.

Anti-government protests continue in #Belgrade #Serbia

LIVE: https://t.co/sU0ZH9b6jT pic.twitter.com/awavLKnOKP

— Ruptly (@Ruptly) April 13, 2019

Despite the protests, Vucic’s SNS party dominates the political arena. Serbia’s divided opposition has little in common other than an aversion to the president.

According to a survey published earlier this week, nearly 55 percent of voters would vote for the SNS if legislative elections were held now.

The opposition Alliance for Serbia coalition, an umbrella group of opposition parties from across the political spectrum, would receive 11.8 percent of the vote, the Faktor Plus survey showed.

Parliamentary elections are due in 2020.

Serbia, which aspires to join the EU in 2025, was criticised by the European Commission last year over press freedoms in the country, denouncing threats, intimidation and violence against journalists.


More on the Subject

Protests can easily become radicalized as it has happened Serbia and Albania. Demonstrations can be hijacked by the nationalistic opposition, which will make the Kremlin happy. Neither of these is a recipe to success, Vesko Garcevic, Professor of the Practice of IR at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at the Boston University, has warned.

Could Wave of Protests in the Balkans Finally Bring About Change?

Share13Tweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Stolpersteine in Greifswald, Germany.
Featured

I Can’t Mark Where My Grandfather Is Buried, but I Want to Mark Where He Lived

by Julie Brill
February 26, 2021
Women protesting sexual harassment outside the Croatian parliament in October 2018.
Featured

‘You Are Not Alone’: Balkan Women Seize #MeToo Moment

by Staff Writer
January 27, 2021
A man hangs a poster reading 'Congratulations Mr. President' at his bar in Rahovec, Kosovo.
Featured

The Western Balkans: An Opportunity for Biden to Restore US Foreign Policy

by Visar Xhambazi
October 26, 2021
Leader of Serbian Orthodox Church Dies of COVID-19
World

Leader of Serbian Orthodox Church Dies of COVID-19

by Deon Feng
November 20, 2020
Kosovo's ex-president Hashim Thaci.
World

Kosovo Ex-president Thaci Denies War Crimes at International Court

by Staff Writer
November 9, 2020
Protestors demanding justice for Jacob Blake face police outside the County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin. AFP
National

Two Killed, One Wounded In Third Night of Kenosha Shooting Protest

by Anya Ruppert
August 26, 2020
Next Post
Finnish flags

Finland Goes to Polls as Leftists Tipped for Next Government

Police used tear gas to disperse protests in Sudan's capital Khartoum and other cities

End of an Era: What is Next for Sudan After Ousting Longtime President Bashir?

Recommended

A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

May 26, 2023
Customers queue to enter a re-opened Zara clothes shop

EU Targets Fast Fashion in Push for Durable Goods

May 23, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

May 16, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill

US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill

May 11, 2023

Opinion

A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

A Supreme Folly 

April 24, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post