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Rabat – Around 140,000 anti-government protestors clashed with the police in the Serbian capital city of Belgrade, on Saturday. This is the largest protest since the student-led demonstrations began in November.
The demonstrators were protesting against the populist government led by the Serbian Progressive Party. They oppose what they see as corruption and ineptitude since the party came to power in 2012.
Students began protesting in November, after a train station collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad killing 16 people – an event that was largely blamed on the government’s failures.
Saturday’s protests took place in Belgrade’s largest square and the streets surrounding the national parliament. The Independent Protest Monitor estimated that around 140,000 people were in attendance.
The protestors chanted “We want elections!” while Serbian flags and holding banners bearing the names of cities and towns throughout the country.
According to reports, police fired tear gas and stun grenades at the protestors in response while the demonstrators retaliated with flares.
Students have been calling for snap-elections and the President Aleksander Vucic to resign. The president was presented with an ultimatum with demands, which the president rejected.
Vucic, according to adjacent government sources, will address the nation on Sunday night and he posted a video of himself condemning the protests. This has just been part of a larger crackdown in recent weeks against demonstrators.
Earlier this month municipality elections showed that public support for the Serbian Progressive Party is on the decline and that an opposition coalition has been strengthening against Vucic. This sets the stage for a political showdown in the eastern margins of the Schengen Zone.
