Serbians march in 4 cities against government pressure and hate speech
[April 01, 2025]
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of Serbians marched in four
cities on Monday protesting government pressure and hate speech directed
at university students and professors behind months of anti-corruption
protests shaking populist President Aleksandar Vucic.
The marches were organized a day after a woman attacked a faculty dean
in Serbia's south with a knife, which protesters blamed on a hate
campaign that they say is fueled by top officials and pro-government
media. |
A person carries a sign that reads in Serbian "I'm not a student but I
can walk" during a protest against government pressure and hate speech
targeting university students and their professors who have been behind
months of anti-corruption demonstrations in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday,
March 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) |
|
Increasingly authoritarian Vucic has struggled to quell
persistent demonstrations triggered by a train station canopy
collapse in November, which killed 16 people. Critics have
blamed the deadly crash on rampant government corruption leading
to sloppy and unsafe renovation work on the station building.
Serbian university students and their professors have been a key
force behind the nationwide demonstrations also reflecting a
wider discontent with Vucic's rule. He has accused protesters of
working against the state interests.
Serbia is formally seeking European Union entry but Vucic has
maintained close ties with Russia and China while facing
accusations of stifling democratic freedoms.
Ivan Videnovic, assistant professor at Belgrade University's
faculty of physics, said he joined the march Monday in the
capital city “because of repression against people ... because
of physical and verbal attacks on university professors and
deans.”
Natalija Jovanovic, dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Nis on
Sunday, suffered a hand injury in Sunday's knife attack in the
southern city of Nis. She blamed the attack on Vucic, who has
repeatedly branded her a “criminal.”
Last week, a senior government official called for the arrest of
Vladan Djokic, the head dean of the University in Belgrade.
Apart from Belgrade, demonstrations were held in the northern
city of Novi Sad, the central city of Kragujevac and Nis, in the
south. The four cities are the university centers in the Balkan
country.
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