After two massacres last week, tens of thousands of people demonstrated against the violence in Belgrade yesterday. Rally participants gathered in the Serbian capital in front of the parliament and proceeded along the highway from the city to the suburb of New Belgrade, as reported by the media.
Among other things, they called for the closure of private television stations that covered up mafia violence and crime and provided propaganda for President Aleksandar Vucic’s government.
APA/AFP/Andrej Isakovic
Liberal and leftist opposition parties and civil movements called for the protest. The triggers were two acts of violence that are not directly related.
17 dead in two days
On Wednesday of last week, a 13-year-old student shot and killed eight classmates and a security guard at a Belgrade school. A day later, a 21-year-old man shot at people in a village near Belgrade, killing eight of them.
In the run-up to the demonstration, the police stated that blocking the Belgrade city highway would be against the law. However, she did not intervene when the demonstration brought traffic to a standstill. The demonstration was peaceful.