Serbs have until June 8 to surrender all their unregistered weapons. With this, the government is trying to disarm society after successive mass shootings.
Two mass shootings on consecutive days in early May rocked the Balkan country, where mass shootings of the kind that occur so regularly in the United States rarely, if ever, occur.
A 13-year-old boy, armed with his father’s pistol, killed nine people, including eight children, at a primary school in Belgrade on May 3. Just a day later, a 20-year-old killed eight and injured 14 in a rampage in a town south of Belgrade.
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In response to the two tragedies, President Aleksandar Vucic embarked on a mission to rid Serbia of firearms. Unlike most European countries, Serbia has a lot of illegal guns throughout society. Serbia is awash with guns and the proliferation of firearms is largely a legacy of the 1990s Yugoslav wars. In terms of gun ownership, Serbia ranks third in the world with Montenegro, behind the United States and Yemen.
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Guns handed over to police during the first ten days of the gun amnesty are pictured at the police depot after mass shootings in the country, near Smederevo, Serbia May 14, 2023. (Portal/Marko Djurica TPX)
According to a 2018 Small Arms Survey report, there are 39 firearms for every 100 residents in Serbia and an estimated 2.7 million civilian-owned firearms, including 1.5 million unregistered firearms.
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Arguably the most sweeping government measure, Vucic ordered all citizens to hand in their unregistered guns and ammunition to authorities by June 8. Those who fail to surrender their weapons during the one-month amnesty period face severe penalties and possibly even imprisonment.
While many in Serbia blame Vucic for the general media culture of promoting violence, the disarmament of the population is usually a welcome measure.
A girl lays flowers for the victims in front of the Vladimir Ribnikar school two days after a 13-year-old boy used his father’s guns to kill eight fellow students and a security guard on May 5, 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
“This is probably the greatest shock and tragedy that has happened to Serbian society,” Helena Ivanov, Associate Fellow of the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
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Daily life in Serbia has almost come to a standstill as the nation continues to mourn and grapple with a new and unforeseen threat. Thousands of people took to the streets for several days to protest the outbreak of violence and to demand government action.
Protests have intensified recently and calls for President Vucic to step down are mounting.
Opposition politicians and demonstrators called for the withdrawal of nationwide broadcasting licenses for certain television stations. They argue that the government and allied media are fueling fear and divisions in society by spreading propaganda and disseminating content that glorifies violence.
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A man in a sweater depicting a gun on it stands in front of a funeral director in the village of Dubona near the town of Mladenovac, some 60 kilometers south of the Serbian capital Belgrade May 5, 2023 after a drive-by shooting. (Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images)
It is not uncommon for Serbian media to have condemned war criminals from the Yugoslav wars in their programs. Members of the government and ruling elite regularly use inflammatory language against the political opposition and anyone who dares to criticize them. Serbia’s Education Minister Branko Ruzic has so far resigned after facing increasing pressure from the opposition, but there is a sense that much more needs to be done.
“So far, most of the protesters’ demands have not been met and we have yet to see how things will develop. But the situation in the country is far from good, and you get the feeling that people are fleeing.” Rand,” Ivanov said.
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Police take security measures after a 7th grade student opened fire at the school in Belgrade, Serbia, May 3, 2023. A security guard and nine children were reportedly killed at the school. (Photo by Milos Miskov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Although Serbia has a high gun ownership rate compared to the rest of the EU, gun laws remain very strict and semi-automatic guns are illegal. Unlike the US, Serbia has no comparable National Rifle Association lobbying for the right to bear arms as protected by the Second Amendment.
Some analysts say Vucic, who is under pressure on several national and international fronts, wants to fundamentally disarm Serbian society. The President proposed a moratorium on new gun licenses for small arms and hunting rifles, and called for legal gun owners to undergo more extensive and mandatory medical and psychological evaluations.
Serbs marching in Belgrade after two mass shootings to protest against the Balkan state’s right-wing, authoritarian government met a counter-demonstration by allies of President Aleksandar Vucic. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
“In fact, the right to bear arms, or to bear arms in general, is neither celebrated nor promoted in Serbia. On the contrary, while Vucic has faced a lot of criticism when it comes to his response to the two mass shootings and his decision to disarm civilians, “has not really been criticized,” Ivanov noted.
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Many Serbs protesting on the streets believe that tackling the causes of the violence is more important than taking measures such as tougher gun laws. Despite the general popularity of distributing illegal weapons, it is still unclear whether the government mandate will have any tangible results.
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“It is limited to a period of one month and it is unrealistic to expect over a million illegally owned firearms to be turned over in such a short period of time,” Predrag Petrovic, research director at the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, told Fox News Digital.
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Speaking to reporters on Sunday, President Vucic said more than 68,000 weapons and explosive devices had been voluntarily surrendered to authorities since the announcement. The surrender of the illegal arms is viewed by many as a step in the right direction, but as Petrovic notes, the number of arms surrendered is “just a drop in the ocean” compared to the number of guns in society.