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Hundreds of riot police separated opponents and loyalists of Serbia’s autocratic president, Aleksandar Vučić in central Belgrade on Sunday as political tensions boiled after a year of persistent anti-government protests.
Several thousands of people faced off on both sides of the police cordons with officers in riot gear standing in several rows between the shouting crowds who threw bottles and flares at each other.
Tensions in Belgrade soared a day after tens of thousands of people joined a huge rally in the northern city of Novi Sad that marked the first anniversary of a train station disaster there that killed 16 people and triggered a youth-led movement demanding political changes, challenging Vučić’s firm grip on power.
Anti-government protesters in Belgrade gathered in support of Dijana Hrka, the mother of Stefan Hrka, one of the Novi Sad victims in the station tragedy. Hrka earlier on Sunday said she was launching a hunger strike near a tent camp outside the parliament building that has been occupied by Vučić’s loyalists since March.
Protesters also gathered in Novi Sad and some smaller towns in support of Hrka on Sunday evening.
The commemoration rally on Saturday in Novi Sad also reflected severe discontent with Vučić’s 13-year increasingly authoritarian rule. Youth-led protesters are demanding an early election they hope would oust the populist government from power.
Protesters believe that rampant government corruption and nepotism during renovation work on the Novi Sad station building led to negligence and disregard of the construction safety rules, and consequently to the collapse of the concrete canopy on to the people standing below.
Hrka said she was seeking accountability for the death of her son and the 15 other victims. She has also demanded that all detained protesters be released and that Vučić schedule an early parliamentary election as sought by the university students at the forefront of the demonstrations.
Vučić set up the loyalists’ camp before a big rally in Belgrade in March. The enclosed zone colloquially known as “Caciland” apparently serves as a human shield for Vučić, filling a park and a street between his office and the parliament building.
Police have guarded the camp while the area has been off limits for the residents of Belgrade. A shooting incident there last month has triggered fears of violence.
Authorities have cracked down on the protesters in recent months, with hundreds detained and police breaking up protests. Pro-government media and officials have called protesting university students “terrorists,” accusing them of inciting violence.
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