site.btaAnother Round of Anti-Government Protests Held In Serbia on Friday Evening

Another round of anti-government protests took place in Belgrade and other Serbian cities on Friday evening, organized by students under the slogan: "We are not punching bags."

The slogan refers to cases of police violence against protesters, evidenced by video footage and statements from victims, published on social media.

Earlier in the day, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, expressed concern following another night of violent protests, which flared up again at the beginning of August in Serbia. In two cities in the autonomous Serbian province of Vojvodina, citizens and supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party exchanged verbal and physical attacks, prompting police intervention and arrests among the protesters.

"I call for calm and respect for the right to peaceful assembly. Serbian authorities must adhere to the standards of the Council of Europe. The rule of law and respect for human rights must prevail," Berset wrote on the social network X.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivica Dacic said there were 144 arrests and 75 injured police officers over the past 24 hours, during which police used batons and tear gas against demonstrators.

On Friday evening, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told national television RTS that the state is stronger than any protest and that it is unacceptable for police officers to be attacked and injured by citizens.

According to Vucic, a civil war will not break out in Serbia, and the anti-government protest is in its final phase.

"This is the phase of despair and helplessness, when you have nothing more to offer the citizens except beatings, clubs, and all the rest. So, when that ends, then we are ready to talk to them, to hear all ideas, to listen, to begin changing ourselves as well, to understand their needs—but before that, they will have to leave the clubs somewhere else," stated the Serbian President, referring to the recent incidents in which premises of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party  in Novi Sad and other cities were vandalized and set on fire.

Following the tragedy in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad last year, when 16 people died in a railway station incident, a wave of social discontent swept across the country. Students blocked more than 60 university faculties nationwide and took the lead in the already spontaneously formed protests, accusing the government and the president of corruption and nepotism.

In May, the students demanded early parliamentary elections, in which they pledged to support a list of publicly respected figures who have not previously participated in the political life of the country.