Serbia’s government rallies to counter anti-corruption protests
The Serbian government has stepped up a crackdown against critics, with police questioning activists and threatening legal action
Tensions mounted in Serbia on Saturday ahead of a major rally in support of populist President Aleksandar Vucic as he pledged to regain control following months of massive anti-corruption protests that have shaken his firm grip on power in the Balkan country.
Vucic has been struggling to quell the nationwide movement led by university students demanding justice for the victims of a railway station canopy collapse that killed 16 people in November and which many blamed on alleged widespread corruption.
The increasingly authoritarian Serbian government has stepped up a crackdown against critics and independent media, with police questioning students and activists and threatening legal action to curb university strikes.
Authorities have sealed off a central area in the capital Belgrade outside the parliament building, setting up concert stages, tents and food stands for the thousands of nationalist supporters who have been bused in from elsewhere in the country as well as from neighbouring Kosovo and Bosnia.
An adjacent park hosting Vucic’s loyalists in front of the presidential palace was encircled with several dozen tractors, apparently in protection of his offices.
As tensions brewed, protesting university students – a key force behind almost daily protests – have urged Belgrade residents to stay away from Vucic’s rally and “use the weekend to rest.”