A sizable demonstration has taken place in Belgrade, marking the peak of over four months of student-led protests and presenting the most significant challenge to President Aleksandar Vučić in the 11 years of his increasingly authoritarian rule.

In preparation for yesterday’s massive protest, Vučić heightened tensions by suggesting an attempt to violently overthrow him and labeling it an “imported revolution” involving western intelligence agencies, without providing any evidence. Despite these claims, the demonstrations against government corruption and inefficiency have predominantly remained peaceful.

In Belgrade’s Pionirski Park, several hundred supporters of the government gathered, mostly young men dressed in black and some reportedly associated with organized football hooligan groups or the Red Berets special forces implicated in the 2003 assassination of Serbia’s liberal prime minister Zoran Djindjić. A substantial police presence separated the government supporters from the protesters at nearby Slavija Square.

In the mid-afternoon, protesters near the state broadcasting headquarters were instructed by police to leave due to a potential threat from pro-government mobs. Trains were canceled for the day, ostensibly for passenger safety, though this was viewed by many as an attempt to curb the demonstration size. Nevertheless, demonstrators arrived with long convoys of cars, tractors, and motorcycles from around the country.

The European Union and the United Nations urged the government beforehand to respect the right to demonstrate. Western governments have been cautious regarding the protests, partly due to their desire to maintain good relations with Vučić to steer him away from Russia’s influence.

Vučić has courted Donald Trump, approving the construction of a Trump hotel in Belgrade and giving an interview to Don Trump Jr., who parroted Serbian government claims that the protests are externally funded. Despite these claims, no evidence has been presented, and Vučić suggested the protests could potentially incite a revolution.

The protests were sparked by the collapse of a concrete canopy at a renovated railway station in Novi Sad, which killed 15 people, and revelations of potential corruption and unsafe construction practices. The demonstrations have been led by students demanding better governance and the provision of public services without bribery or favoritism. The students have distanced themselves from opposition parties, which they blame for the state sector’s decline and cynicism.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/global/2025/mar/15/serbians-stage-huge-protest-in-belgrade-against-their-president