July 10, 2020.
After two nights of riots, anti-government demonstrators switch to a sit-in protest, differentiating themselves from those who provoked the police and who they believed were instructed by the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) led by President Aleksandar Vucic, N1 reported.
The sit-in protests in Belgrade and the northern city of Novi Sad don’t have any official organiser but start gathering after calls on social networks.
Some posts called on them to wear white shirts to be different from those who attack the police and usually wear hooded sweatshirts.
Later on Thursday, at several locations in Belgrade, young men dressed in black, wearing masks and singing songs about Kosovo as a part of Serbia, tried to force people who were sitting on the ground to stand up and radicalise the protest.
Journalists and analysts say they are far-rightists sent by politicians of such affiliation or even by the authorities to provoke the police reactions.
They did not succeed and peaceful protesters chased them away. But, as an N1 reporter said, it seemed they would not give up attempts to provoke incidents.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Party (DS) Zoran Lutovac told N1 that "Vucic is in Paris and a riot doesn't suit him now. If the regime wanted this to escalate, it would have escalated."
Earlier, some 150 police officers guarding the Parliament building in Belgrade also set down on the stairs following the example of the protesters, in a sign they would not react if the protest remained peaceful.
Serbia's Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said she was glad the protesters were peaceful on Thursday, but not happy because of the risk of spreading the coronavirus infection.
Earlier in the day, the Government introduced new measures including the ban of the public gatherings of more than ten people in Belgrade, as of Friday, the limit of the number of people in indoor areas to one person per four square meters just as it was during the state of emergency.
Earlier, a group of medical staff rallied outside the St Marko Church, the scene of brutal clashes between police and some people, to express dissatisfaction with the Government handling the epidemic crisis. They said the country’s health system almost collapsed.
After heavy clashes between some protesters and the strong police force over the last two nights, the opposition and analysts said those who attacked police officers were sent to do that. Their attacks caused bitter police reactions and the inappropriate use of force in many cases.
Some eyewitnesses said they saw a group of masked young men who threw things on the police who then responded with teargas, not at them but toward other protesters.
On Thursday night, hundreds of people rallied in the centre of Belgrade, outside the Parliament building and set on the ground, whistling and carrying banners reading ‘Don’t fall for it; Sit down,’ ‘Arrest hooligans, don’t beat your people.’
The police stopped traffic in the main street, and only a few of them were seen guarding the building which was also protected by a metal fence.
A similar scene is seen in Novi Sad, where people are peacefully sitting in the main square.
The mainly young people also carry banners and flags.
One of them told the crowd: “I don’t ask for anything more, just for a normal life for our children and us.”
A crowd then went to the central police station where Miran Pogacar, an activist, was held after being arrested on Wednesday night and would be held in 48-hour detention.
People in several other towns and cities across Serbia also organised the sit-in protests where demonstrators chanted slogans against Vucic and his SNS.
rs.n1info.com
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