Student-led protests posed the worst threat to the 14 years of Serbian strongman Aleksandar Vucic’s rule, with more than 100,000 people being brought to the streets of Belgrade and the city in Serbia, calling for systemic corruption throughout the government.
On March 15, many believed to be the largest population in Serbia’s recent history, with an estimated 300,000 people marching in the center of Belgrade.
Serbian President Vucic, he Still close to Russiastill provocative, ignored the stepping down and accused the protest movement of planning violent attacks and sparked civil war.
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Student-led protests posed the worst threat to the 14 years of Serbian strongman Aleksandar Vucic’s rule, with more than 100,000 people being brought to the streets of Belgrade and the city in Serbia, calling for systemic corruption throughout the government. (Darko Vojinovic/AP photo)
“Moscow and Belgrade promised to blend the color revolution in 2021. This is dangerous because Russia can provide intelligence support to Serbia,” Ivana Stradner, a researcher at the Defense Democratic Foundation, told Fox News Digital Numbers.
Stradner added: “Vucic hopes that the protests in Serbia will stop, but they are getting longer and longer.”
Vucic accused students of orchestrating a Western-backed “colored revolution” and compared the movement to the 2014 Ukraine Euromaidan Revolution, when the Ukrainian pro-Russian president was expelled from his capacity to seek closer ties to Vladimir Putin in Europe.
NGOs accuse government of using illegal weapons, including remote acoustic equipment (LRAD), a common population control device that can cause serious hearing impairment, during a memorial silence for victims Novi’s sad railway collapse November.
“The Belgrade Security Policy Center strongly condemns the illegal and inhuman deployment of prohibited weapons, such as acoustic devices, against the fact that peaceful protesters paid tribute to victims of the collapsed roof of Novi Sad during public gatherings,” the group said in a statement.
Thousands of college students have been marching since December, demanding justice and accountability after 15 people died in the crash of the train station in the Serbian town of Novi Sad. (igor pavicevic/Reuters)
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric denied the allegations in an article on X.
“Serbia absolutely denied the unfounded allegation that any illegal weapons, including the so-called ‘voice cannon’, were used by protesters in Belgrade,” Djuric said.
President Vucic also denied these claims, calling them “lies” to speak to the country and promised to investigate the matter.
Protests to consume Serbia not only took place overnight, but have been going on for months.
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Thousands of college students have been marching since December, demanding justice and accountability after 15 people died in the crash of the train station in the Serbian town of Novi Sad. The top of the train station collapsed after a renovation led by two Chinese companies.
Initially protesting to express dissatisfaction The government’s response failed The railway disaster turned into a campaign against widespread corruption and eroded the rule of law under Vucic.
Originally initially, it was a spontaneous protest expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s response to the railway disaster, turning into a campaign against widespread corruption and erosion of the rule of law under Vucic. (Mitar Mitrovic/Reuters)
Helena Ivanov, a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Institute, told Fox News Digital that they call for greater press freedom and accountability, which is also important to recognize that the protests are deeper – many believe that the country is corrupt and very unhappy with Vučić’s government. ”
Ivanov said the government’s attempts to alleviate the situation, such as arresting individuals involved in a corrupt transaction a few years ago, or the resignation of the prime minister in January, were considered too few, protesters and opposition politicians too late.
Serbia’s trapped between Europe and Russia could normalize relations with Kosovo
Many experts and observers in the Balkans were disappointed by the Biden administration’s regional policy, claiming that the administration has eased the VUCIC regime and refused to call his anti-democratic behavior. The efforts to swing Vucic and maintain close ties with Belgrade are considered indispensable Serbia – Kosovo Normalization The process and its path to the EU ascension.
Serbian President Vucic remains in close ties with Russia, has been provocating, ignoring calls for stepping down, accusing protest movement of planning violent attacks and sparking civil war. (MILOS MISKOV/ANADOLU agents through Getty Images)
A former senior diplomat’s expert knowledge of the Balkans told Fox News numbers that Vucic mistakenly portrayed protesters as inspired and led by “globalist elites” in hopes of attracting President Trump’s attention and support.
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If President Trump wants a quick, cheap victory for him and the United States in the Balkans, diplomats say Trump should shift the U.S. regional pose from appeasement of Vucic to curbing him. This posture in Serbia would show that the United States is not joking in the Balkans and hopes to use the doctrine of “peace by force” to eliminate conflicts while leveraging the “peace by force”.
