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Tensions between anti-government protesters and authorities in Serbia escalated Tuesday as students led a blockade of the country’s national public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), in Belgrade and the second-largest city, Novi Sad, pledging to keep it in place for at least 22 hours, foreign media reported.
According to a DW report, the protests, which have been ongoing for several months, were sparked by the deadly collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November last year that left 15 dead.
The university students-led protests have called for accountability for the disaster, which many believe was caused by corruption and inadequate infrastructure oversight, the report said.
What initially started as a student-led movement has now grown into one of the largest anti-government rallies in Serbia, drawing in citizens from across sectors including teachers, farmers, and workers, Reuters reported.
On Monday night, hundreds of demonstrators blocked RTS’s headquarters in Belgrade, preventing employees from entering and temporarily halting live programming, the DW report said, adding that police action to disperse the protesters, led to a brief clash which at least one officer was injured.
The protesting students, DW report suggests, have alleged bias in coverage of their movement by the state broadcaster.
Meanwhile, President Vucic has condemned the protests, warning that any further demonstrations would be met with force. “You will have to kill me if you want to replace me,” DW quoted Vucic as saying in a televised interview.
Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) have consistently labeled the demonstrations as “foreign-backed efforts to destabilise the country”.
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