"They're going to kill us": Serbian president prepares to toughen crackdown on protesters

BarcelonaSerbia's nationalist president, Aleksandar Vučić, has announced that he will implement "surprising measures" against protesters who They have been protesting against their government for nine months.On Wednesday, August 13, the protests, which had been largely peaceful until then, turned violent, with clashes between demonstrators and security forces. Several offices of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Vučić's party, were attacked and a fire was set on them.

In this context, the Serbian president, accused by several NGOs of trying to suppress the protests with repressive methodsVučić compared the protesters to Nazis on Monday and declared their actions "authentic terrorism." For the moment, he denies that he wants to impose a state of emergency, but has said that other measures could be taken. While he did not specify them, he did say that he is preparing the legal groundwork for a "reaction." "You will see the determination of the Serbian state. We will do everything possible to restore order and peace," Vučić said, adding that "if we don't take decisive steps, they will kill us."

Since last Wednesday, protests have left hundreds injured, including 120 police officers, and dozens arrested. This Sunday, the Prosecutor's Office announced that 56 protesters had been arrested. In fact, the protests took this violent turn after "bullies"The NHS and the police injured 80 protesters at a demonstration, they claimed. The government insists on placing the blame on the protesters, whom it accuses of colluding with Western countries.

Nine months of protests

Protests against Vučić's government began after 16 people lost their lives when a newly renovated shelter collapsed at a train station in Novi Sad on November 1st of last year. Initially, the student-led demonstrations demanded accountability for the incident, but They were adopting an anti-government message, and accuse the executive of being authoritarian and corrupt..

At the end of November, Construction Minister Goran Vesic resigned and was arrested for crimes against public safety. Pressure from protesters has also led to various government reshuffles, but students continue to demand early elections and have persisted for nine months in their demonstrations, which in March broke a historic record in the country: they gathered between 500,000 and 700,000 people, according to the organization.

The Vučić government maintains close ties with Russia and China, but despite this and its authoritarian policies, it has not given up on joining the European Union. The Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner, Michael O'Flaherty, condemned the disproportionate use of force by the police on Friday and expressed his support for the government's actions. concerned about the state of human rights in SerbiaRussia, on the other hand, has offered support to Vučić to "control violent movements."