Serbian police remove the blockages from Belgrade Street, more demonstrators arrested | Protests

A number of demonstrators have been arrested, but the police did not share the exact number.

Serbian police emerged barricades Established by demonstrators in the capital after a weekend of antigan-government demonstrations that led to clashes with the police and captured a dissent from the public of a month against the government.

Monday, the police withdrew metal fences and moved garbage containers that blocked traffic in the Zemun Belgrade district, while several dozen demonstrators chanted antigan -government slogans and said they would return to the street.

In a statement, the police said that many people had been arrested but had not given their number. Their arrest has fueled the anger of those who demonstrate against a populist government which he accuses authoritarian policies.

Protesters called for the immediate release of people accused of attacked the police or plotting to overthrow the government.

President Aleksandar Vucic, who promised a repression against the demonstrators, praised the police action during a visit to Spain on Monday and said: “Citizens should not worry, the state is strong enough to obtain public order.”

Over the past eight months, students led by students have taken place almost daily after the collapse of a roof from the station 16 people In November in the city of Novi Sad.

While the incident followed the renovation work at the station, it was largely blamed for poor construction and endemic corruption in the corridors of power.

On Saturday, around 140,000 people gathered in Belgrade, in one of the biggest demonstrations in recent months, calling for an early election to oust the right -wing government in Vucic. The authorities, however, challenged the strength of the crowd, saying that only 36,000 people were demonstrating.

During the demonstration, some demonstrators clashed with the police, with nearly 50 police officers and 22 injured demonstrators. Anti-riot police used batons, pepper spray and shields to load on demonstrators who threw rocks, among other objects.

Police said that around 40 people are faced with criminal accusations on the confrontation. The Serbian authorities arrested at least eight university students, accusing them of planning attacks against public establishments.

After the November disaster, the public outcry sparked the Prime Minister’s resignation and the government’s collapse.

However, Vucic reworked his cabinet and trained a new government, refusing to announce an early election before its date scheduled in 2027.

The president accused the “foreign powers” of orchestrating the demonstration on Saturday and said that the demonstrators were trying to “overthrow Serbia” but that it was failed.

A close neighbor, Russia, commented on demonstrations on Monday and said that demonstrations could be an attempt at “color revolution”, a probable reference to the Orange revolution of Ukraine in 2004.

“We do not doubt that the current Serbian management will be able to restore the law and the order in the Republic in the very close future,” he added.

Vucic is considered a close ally of Moscow and was in the country on May 9 for the military parade of the Red square, the most sacro-sacro-sacrosia date of the Russian calendar, held to commemorate the Soviet victory against the third Reich of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.