Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, was on guard on Friday ahead of a significant anti-government march this weekend, with nationalist leaders of President Aleksandar Vucic making more attempts to entice those who refused to attend.
The rally on Saturday is seen as the start of Vucic’s right-wing government’s campaign against graft, which has been experiencing growing public dissatisfaction.
The authoritarian Russian president has repeatedly threatened arrests for any incidents while also threatening to hold a press conference about the anticipated violence at the rally. Vocic’s followers have been camping in the city centre, which has raised concerns about conflicts with the demonstrators.
Tens of thousands of individuals and other activists are expected to converge on Belgrade from all over Serbia in spite of rising tensions.
On Friday night, kids who have been marching or cycling toward Belgrade are expected to arrive for a festival-like pleasant city.
Earlier student-led rallies in another Serbian cities were peaceful and popular with a large crowd.
A counter-protest was held on Friday at a park outside the Serb administration building in Belgrade, where Vucic’s followers, including former military fighters, had parked tractors. Officials stated that for safety reasons, the Parliament building across the street may be locked for the next three weeks.
Serbia’s railroad company Srbijavoz also announced on Friday that it was suspending all intercity travel in response to an alleged weapon fear, a move seen as a last-ditch effort to stop people from visiting Belgrade.
The national anti-graft movement, which began more than four months ago when a masonry ceiling collapsed at a train station in Serbia’s northwest, resulted in the death of 15 people.
With the speed steadily gaining in favor of the demands for change, almost daily protests have rattled Vucic’s strong hold on power in Serbia.
Serbia is fully requesting membership in the European Union, but the decision populists have been accused of stifling political freedoms while boosting relations with China and Russia.
Vucic has rejected proposals to form a intermediate state with a six-month vote deadline. He has stated that he will move along if someone murders me.
The Bosnian leader has referred to the demonstrations as a Western-style plot to “destroy” Serbia and remove him from power. After on Friday, he will address the nation.
Some Serbians attributed the Novi Sad fall to the government’s corruption and carelessness, which led to subpar renovations of the central train station building.
