7/1/2023 9:46 pm (act. 7/1/2023 9:50 pm)
Deadline for handing over illegal weapons with impunity ©APA/AFP
After two killings in May this year that left 18 dead, people in Serbia have handed over a total of 108,833 illegally owned weapons. So said a police spokeswoman in Belgrade on Saturday, according to Serbian news agency Tanjug. The government asked for the weapons to be handed over.
The deadline for the fine waiver expired at midnight the previous day, after having already been extended once. According to the police, around 82,400 revolvers, around 26,500 mines and other explosive devices and 4.2 million pieces of ammunition were delivered.
On Saturday night, tens of thousands of people demonstrated again in Belgrade and at least eight other places in Serbia against what they believed to be the violent climate in the country promoted by sensationalist pro-government media.
Leftist and liberal opposition parties and civil movements called the rallies. In Belgrade, protesters filled the headquarters of the private broadcaster Pink TV. They accused this government-controlled tabloid of inciting hatred and violence. Citizens’ anger is also directed at President Aleksandar Vucic and the government. They are accused of not having prevented this violent climate.
The two killings deeply shook Serbian society. On May 3, a 13-year-old student fatally shot nine classmates and a security guard at his school in central Belgrade. A day later, a young man killed eight people with firearms in a village near Belgrade. The two riots were unrelated.