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At least two Serbian lawmakers were hospitalised on Tuesday, with the parliament’s opening session descending into chaos as opposition MPs fired flares and smoke grenades in the assembly to protest against President Aleksandar Vučić.
Peaceful demonstrations against alleged corruption and authoritarianism of the Vučić regime have been taking place in the past four months, leading to the resignation of his prime minister. But the rare scenes of violence on the parliament floor mark a major escalation of anti-Vučić protests, which were sparked by a fatal accident blamed on government corruption.
As pink and grey smoke filled the halls, video footage showed someone throwing a brick-sized object that hit ruling party MP Jasmina Obradović in the head. Obradović was hospitalised in a serious condition.
An eight-month pregnant MP, Sonja Ilić, was also taken to hospital, where doctors are fighting to keep her baby alive, according to parliament speaker Ana Brnabic. At least one more lawmaker was injured.
“You have started something never seen before in Serbia, shame on you, a terrorist gang, not a political party,” Brnabic told opposition MPs, adding that “parliament will continue to work and to defend Serbia”.
Despite the chaos and the vuvuzelas, rattles and whistles blaring over the speakers, parliament continued its session, scheduled to pass dozens of laws in response to the protests.
The wave of demonstrations had been prompted by the collapse of a railway station roof in the city of Novi Sad in November, killing 15 people. They have since turned into the most serious threat yet faced by Vučić, who has led the Balkan country in various roles since 2017.
A former information minister for the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, Vučić has cultivated close relations with both Russia and the Trump administration, while also claiming to be committed to his country joining the EU.
While the chaos inside parliament unfolded, students gathered outside chanting “thieves” and blockading the streets.
The violence is unlikely to endear the opposition to the protesting students, who see all lawmakers as corrupt and inefficient, said Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think-tank. “It is difficult to see what’s next, how this is a strategy that will lead to elections that they can win.”
The upheaval in Serbia comes as tensions have threatened to erupt across the region. In Bosnia, an ethnic Serb leader is rejecting the central government’s authority and a recent election returned an Albanian nationalist to power in Kosovo.
