Protesters in Serbia Demand the Resignation of the President

Following mass shootings in Belgrade that resulted in the deaths of 18 people on May 3 and 4, tens of thousands of demonstrators began extensive protests by blocking a highway, demanding government accountability for 'promoting violence.' According to Reuters, in the seventh week of these protests, as demonstrations spread to other cities including Novi Sad in the north, Niš in the south, and Kragujevac in central Serbia, protesters donned prison uniforms and masks, mocking senior Serbian officials. Following calls from some civil groups, the crowd gathered in Belgrade chanted 'Vučić, get out!' directed at Aleksandar Vučić, the President of Serbia, and other prominent figures, while also demanding the resignation of Bratislav Gašić, the Minister of Interior, and Aleksandar Vulin, the head of the secret service. Meanwhile, the protesting crowd holds officials responsible for their failure to control criminal gangs, thus accusing the Minister of Interior and the head of the secret service of 'promoting violence,' calling for the revocation of the television network's license and the banning of certain newspapers that promote violence. Although Vučić had previously agreed to hold early elections this year, these statements were met with a strong reaction from the opposition, which insists that the government must meet the protesters' demands for greater media freedom before any polling can take place. In this confrontation, protesters remain determined to stay in the streets and persist until they achieve their goals, criticizing the government for 'promoting violence' and sowing seeds of fear and division among the people across the country. Although mass shootings in this region are considered rare, the culture of firearms and weapon manufacturing has deep roots in Serbia, and analysts believe that many military weapons and explosives from the conflicts of the 1990s in the Balkans are still accessible.