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Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Sunday there will be “no pardons” for anti-government activists who engage in violence, after authorities arrested dozens of demonstrators when fighting broke out for the first time in months of protests.
“You cannot defeat Serbia with violence, Serbia has not stopped, nor will it stop,” the president told a press conference. He promised more arrests after 77 people were detained on Saturday night, the largest number since protests began eight months ago.
Vučić’s heavy-handed rule has been shaken by the demonstrations, which began when a railway station roof collapsed in the city of Novi Sad last autumn, killing 16 people. The protests were started by students who blamed the tragedy on government corruption, but have since expanded to involve a cross-section of society.
After Saturday’s anti-government rally drew at least tens of thousands of people, some remained on the street and ignored student protest leaders’ calls to avoid violence. They began throwing rocks and bottles at police, who responded with tear gas and batons, ending with injuries on both sides.
The protests had until then been largely peaceful, even when authorities used tools like sound cannons against them. “We will continue where we left off,” one student told local media on Sunday, saying Serbia must hold early elections.
Vučić on Sunday rejected those calls, and accused the protesters of making “a direct call for civil conflicts and attacks on the police” by expanding the demonstrations beyond their student base.
“The time for responsibility is coming,” he said. “I will sign no pardons.”
Helena Ivanov, a fellow at the Henry Jackson Society in London, said the situation was headed towards a “make it or break it” moment.
The crackdown could further agitate protesters and increase their momentum, Ivanov said. But “if the people cave in, if this momentum dies now, I don’t think we will be seeing elections until 2027”.
The students “have walked, cycled and run across the country and across Europe — yet the regime has failed to fulfil their demands”, she said. “Now, this definitely puts the regime under even more pressure.”
