site.btaSerbia Had 23,373 Protest Rallies over Nine Months - Police Chief

Over nine months, 23,373 protests have taken place across Serbia, police chief Dragan Vasiljevic said in an interview with RTS. He clarified during the Tuesday night interview that the protests were not authorized in accordance with the law, but more than 230,000 police officers were deployed to ensure safety during them.

He said it is hard for him to say anything to a police officer who complains that he has brought a person into custody three times already, and here he is for the fourth time throwing stones at police again.

"Imagine if there was no police presence at those 23,000 locations [with protests]. It would be complete chaos. And it's obvious that someone needs that chaos, or someone wants that chaos, but the police won’t allow it," the police chief added.

He noted that in the past nine months, traffic in Serbia has been blocked at more than 12,000 locations.

Anti-government protests have been taking place in Serbia for over nine months following the collapse of the canopy at the railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad on November 1 last year, which caused the deaths of 16 people. The tragedy sparked a wave of social discontent across the country. Students blocked over 60 faculties nationwide and took the lead in the already spontaneously emerging protests, accusing the government and President Aleksandar Vučić of corruption and nepotism.

During a massive protest in Belgrade on Vidovdan, June 28 - a date heavy with historical symbolism for Serbs – students called for early parliamentary elections and urged citizens to support them by participating in various forms of civil disobedience.

The police director said that one of the main topics at the National Security Council meeting held Tuesday in Belgrade was the security situation in Serbia. "The conclusion of the Council meeting is that the security situation in Serbia is stable," Vasiljevic told RTS.

"It was concluded that full coordination among all security services and other state bodies is necessary to ensure that the security situation remains completely stable," he said. The police chief added that certain methods were analyzed to further improve the situation, but he did not provide any details.

A few days ago, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that the state has sufficient legal measures available to use against protesters, and that the introduction of a state of emergency is not being considered.

"You will see our surprising decisions. In the first few days, it may seem to some that we have backed down, that we are not present, but afterwards, the full determination of the Serbian state will become clear. We will use everything at our disposal to restore order, peace, and calm in our country," Vucic said.