Serbian leader reverses new lockdown
BELGRADE, Serbia — Police fired tear gas at protesters in Serbia’s capital on Wednesday, the second day of demonstrations against the president’s handling of the country’s coronavirus outbreak.
President Aleksandar Vucic backtracked on his plans to reinstate a coronavirus lockdown in Belgrade this week, but it didn’t stop people from firing flares and throwing stones while trying to storm the downtown parliament building. Several people were injured during the chaotic clashes in front of the parliament on Wednesday, including opposition leaders.
Police on horses and in armoured vehicles intervened in the city centre to push back the demonstrators, setting up cordons and blocking the crowd from returning to the square outside the parliament building.
Tear gas was fired in several spots. Some protesters overturned garbage containers and set them on fire while trying to stop the police officers pushing them away.
The scene was reminiscent of the era of late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s, when clashes often erupted at anti-government protests.
The clashes happened a day after protesters fought running battles with police in the capital and tried to enter the country’s parliament after Vucic announced that a weekend curfew would be reintroduced two months after it was first lifted.
Clashes were also reported in the northern Serbian town of Novi Sad.
Opponents blame the autocratic Vucic for contributing to the spike in deaths and new cases after he lifted the previous lockdown measures.
They say he did that to cement his grip on power after Serbia’s June 21 parliamentary election. He has denied those claims.
Mass gatherings at soccer and tennis matches and nightclubs were allowed despite warnings by experts that it could lead to a spike in coronavirus cases, something that is now taking place.
Under apparent pressure from the protesters, the president backtracked Wednesday on his new lockdown plans that were to take effect during the coming weekend, claiming the measure cannot be implemented without proclaiming a nationwide state of emergency.
Vucic said although he still supports the lockdown, “most probably, there will be no curfew,”
He said the government will decide on new measures that could include shortened hours for nightclubs and penalties for people not wearing masks.
He said foreign secret services were behind the Tuesday night protests by “right-wing and pro fascist demonstrators.”
He did not identify the alleged spy agencies and strongly defended the police action against accusations of brutality.
“We will never allow the destabilization of Serbia from within and abroad,” Vucic said, adding that the protest had “nothing to do with the coronavirus.”