Road barriers replace gatherings, as the Serbian demonstrators demand new elections

As Serbian protests entered the ninth month of corruption, no sign of abandonment-and instead they change their leadership, formation and tactics.

At the height of the 140,000 people last weekend in the Slavija Square in Belgrade, students who have led the protests have announced since November that they will not lead the gatherings.

They have set a final date on Saturday for the government to call for new elections.

When this was not fulfilled, they called on other groups to confront the protest scarf – and called for the “Civil Disobedience” campaign from anyone opposing the leadership of President Alexander Fuzic and his long -standing progressive party (SNS).

Since then, road barriers have appeared in cities across Serbia this week, and people have been spreading garbage, chairs and other improvised barriers in front of the intersections of preventing him in major cities including Belgrade, Novi Sad and NIS. Local population societies, known as “Citizen Associations”, participated greatly.

Once the police dismantled the siege, another back elsewhere.

In recent days, there have been dozens of arrests – along with complaints from the excessive police force. A number of students were treated in the hospital – one with the collarbone – after Gendarmerie members entered the faculty members at the University of Belgrade on Wednesday.

The officers also arrested high school students, which led to a protest by parents in front of the Belgrade police station in central Belgrade until their children were released.

A group of amazing sounds condemned the police behavior. The complaints of the Association of Journalists and the opposition center party were matched by statements from the Association of Lawyers to the President of the Archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Gregory Doric. For its part, the European Union criticized “hate and violence” and called for calm.

Meanwhile, in Belgrade, pop-up barriers-as well as the travel chaos that followed the passengers.

One of the residents, while sadly noticed that she had to walk 5 km (3 miles) to and from work, described the mood as a series of street parties more than protest.

But many observers question whether this approach will be more effective than the months of gatherings, the blockade of faculty and non -heart attacks.

The protest movement began for a relatively simple purpose: to ensure accountability for the NVI SAD disaster last, when a concrete umbrella collapsed in the recently renewed facility in the second city of Serbia, killing 16 people who were under it.

The flow of sadness was a moment – and the anger quickly followed.

Many of them have been directed to President Fuzic.

A long time ago, there was not a large part of the Serbians in his “strong man” leadership style, as he reached power in 2012. But others accepted his party’s grip on state institutions and many media as a barter of strong economic growth and improvements in infrastructure.

The station disaster broke this implicit agreement.

“We are all under the umbrella,” was one of the slogans that were repeatedly seen on signs in the early days of the protests. Others included “blood on your hands” and “corruption kills.”

University students have taken the leadership of the movement, demanding full transparency about the railway station project and the trial of the disaster.

Months of protests eventually forced the resignation of Milos Vucevic As prime minister. But it was simply replaced by the appointment of another Vocic, Djuro Macut – and the protest movement achieved little in terms of concrete results.

However, the protests have now brought hundreds of thousands to the streets and lead to the assembly of large sectors of society.

One of the opposition leader, SRDJAN MilIVOJEVIC of the Democratic Party in the center, compared this moment with the early first decade of the twentieth century, when the protests led by students against President Silopodan Milosivic “became a” popular movement “.

After that, the interest groups coalition against Milosivic attempts to manipulate the outcome of the presidential election in September 2000 stood up. The mass protests forced the president’s resignation the following month and entered democracy in Serbia for the first time.

But despite the efforts made to summon the “Spirit of October 5”, the current situation is different. President Vocic and his party remain in a relatively comfortable position, as polls indicate that SNS is still the most popular party.

In the aftermath of the student’s last gathering, Mr. VCIC announced that “Serbia has won” in the face of an attempt to “overthrow the state.”

People who prevent roads in the cities of Serbia view them differently. They ask for change through the ballot box – even if it is clear that it is clear who will face SNS. The president insists that there will be no elections before December next year.

And now this may be the question that was on any side that was first. With the temperatures already pushed about 40 degrees Celsius, it may be a summer that deviates in more than one way.