Tens of thousands demonstrate in Belgrade demanding the resignation of the interior minister after deadly mass shootings.
Tens of thousands of Serbs have joined an anti-government protest in Belgrade for the sixth time since May 3. They blame a culture of violence for the deaths of 18 people in two mass shootings and are calling for the resignation of the interior minister.
To sing “[Serbian President Aleksandar] Vucic out!” With a large banner reading “Students Against Violence,” demonstrators gathered in front of Parliament on Friday and marched to Government House.
Mass demonstrations have erupted in Belgrade and several other Serbian cities since two deadly shootings in early May that killed 18 and wounded 20 others, including primary school students. Friday’s protest was the sixth in the Serbian capital since the killings.
The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Serbian Interior Minister Bratislava Gasic and Intelligence Service chief Aleksandar Vulin, whom they accuse of failing to bring criminal groups to justice.
“We can’t give the victims their lives back, but we can make sure something like this doesn’t happen again,” actor Milan Maric said in his address to the crowd. “We want Serbia without violence, Serbia with hope.”
The protesters also called for the national broadcasting licenses of Pink TV and Happy TV to be revoked and some tabloids accused of promoting violence to be banned.
“I assume that the protest will continue because there is no other way,” said one of the protesters, who gave her name Milica. “I think at some point the government has to give in, that’s a huge number of people, and at some point they’re going to have to give in to that pressure.”
Prime Minister Ana Brnabic agreed to resign on Wednesday and invited opposition parties that have backed the protests to engage in dialogue. But protest leaders have said they will not speak to the government until all their demands are met.
Vucic said his government was not to blame.
“Is the government responsible for the crimes committed? I cannot accept that,” he told Portal on Friday.
Serbia has a deep-rooted gun culture and, like the rest of the Western Balkans after the 1990s wars that tore apart the former Yugoslavia, is awash with privately held military arms and ordnance. However, mass shootings are rare.