BELGRADE, December 30 In the tent camp of the pro-Western opposition in the center Three dozen people are spending the night in Belgrade, “warming up” with alcohol and playing cards with songs, the correspondent reports.
They set up two dozen tents, some of them “decorated” with slogans. The protesters sleep in tents or on the street, the rest sing and play cards. Now it’s +9 degrees in Belgrade, so the protesters are “warming up” with the famous Serbian rakia. The police regulate traffic around the camp.
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On Friday afternoon, supporters of the pro-Western opposition blocked Kneza Miloš Street in the center of Belgrade near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense of Serbia. They call it a 24-hour «blockade» that is expected to escalate into a large protest rally on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday evening, a column of older protesters joined the camp, who usually gather for a daily rally near the Republican Election Commission, about a kilometer from the camp. Several hundred people took part in the joint rally and it took place in a calm atmosphere.
Supporters of the pro-Western opposition bloc “Serbia against violence”, who disagreed with the results of the December 17 elections, started riots on the night of December 25 and occupied the steps in front of the building of the representative and executive body of Belgrade, before which they blocked the adjacent street. They broke glass and threw pieces of paving stones at the doors and windows of the building, tried to break through, and the police responded with tear gas.
Late on Sunday evening, police dispersed protesters in front of the Belgrade administration within minutes, clearing the square of them and setting up a cordon.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in an address to citizens against the backdrop of these unrest, said that these protests in Belgrade are an attempt to deprive Serbia of independence and sovereignty, the authorities will protect order. He also thanked the partner intelligence services of other states, which, according to him, warned the Serbian authorities about impending unrest. According to Vucic, about 2.5 thousand people gathered near the parliament building, less than half of them took part in the riots.
According to the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, eight police officers were injured at opposition protests near the Belgrade Assembly, 38 protest participants were detained, they are suspected of “attempting a violent overthrow of the constitutional order.”
On Wednesday, the High Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade said that seven participants in the riots that occurred on the night of December 25 admitted guilt and agreed to fines and suspended imprisonment, two were released from custody, and arrest measures were proposed for another 11.< br>