‘Serbia against violence’ protests expand into 15 cities

Anti-government Serbia against Violence protests were held in 15 Serbian cities on Saturday, with the largest gathering being in Belgrade, where protesters pelted the building of TV station Pink with toilet paper.

Protests, which have spread across the country following two mass shootings in May, were held in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Smederevo, Subotica, Kragujevac, Leskovac, Šabac, Zrenjanin, Vranje, Žagubica, Kraljevo, Kuršumlija, Jagodina, Prokuplje and Temerin. Roads and railways were blocked in some cities, while organisers called for demonstrators “not to fall for provocations”.

Protestors in Belgrade gathered in front of the parliament and then walked to the building of the TV station Pink owned by Željko Mitrović. While protestors had demanded the cancellation of Pink’s reality show “Zadruga”, a new season was just announced for September, with a winning prize of €250,000.

The building had been covered with a giant Serbian flag, which had prompted Srđan Milivojević from the Democratic Party to file criminal charges against Mitrović. Milivojević claims that this violated section 33 of the law on the appearance and use of the crest, flag and hymn of Serbia, which states that the flag cannot be used to drape, nor can it touch the floor.

Demonstrators pelted the building with toilet paper and used a projector to put images on the flag. One of them was Andrea Bojanić, killed in a car accident caused by Mitrović’s son. The other, Oliver Ivanović, leader of the citizen’s initiative “Freedom, Democracy, Justice”, was assassinated a few months after Pink broadcasted a video about him by an assailant still at large.

The TV station owner’s response was to blast loud music while protesters chanted, even though the building is near hospitals and a maternity ward.

Heavy private security was present around the building, and the media reported a few minor clashes.

Protests are expected to continue next week, with the demands of the protestors remaining the same: replacing Interior Minister Bratislav Gašić and the Director of BIA Aleksandar Vulin, replacing the council of REM, and doing the same with the management of national broadcaster RTS.

Protesters are also demanding the urgent cancellation of the reality show “Zadruga” and for the ban of similar “violence promoting” programmes, including on the radio. The same bans are demanded for similar print and digital media.

(EURACTIV.rs | Bojana Zimonjić Jelisavac)