(3 Jun 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Belgrade - 3 June 2023
1. Various people at the protest
2. People carrying banners and walking through the crowd
3. Various people at the protest
4. Banner reading ( Serbian) “ Students are not silent”
5. Various people at the protest
6. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Luka Pesic, Protester:
”I am here because I believe we cannot continue this way and I think that some change needs to happen in order to live in a better country. And for a better tomorrow.”
7. People at the protest
8. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Tamara Krstic, Protester:
”Because of the violence and everything that happened to us, the tragedy that happened, we want to find together a possibility for some sort of catharsis, possibility for something new, different, and better.”
9. Protester holding banner reading (Serbian) “Your reign is over”
10. Protesters in the park in support of Kosovo Serbs
11. Banner reading (Serbian) “Stop violence over Serbs on Kosovo and Metohija”
12. Various people at the protest observing minute of silence
13. People at the protest holding large Serbian flag
14. Protesters under Serbian flag
15. Banner flying in the air with balloons depicting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reading (Serbian) “Vucic, go away”
STORYLINE:
Thousands rallied in Serbia’s capital on Saturday in protest at the government’s actions following last month's mass shootings in the Balkan country.
The protesters chanted slogans against President Aleksandar Vucic as they marched through the capital to gather in front of his headquarters.
It was the fifth time in a month that demonstrators took to the streets of Serbia’s capital.
The deadly shootings shook the nation, but the president has rejected any responsibility for the crisis and ignored the protesters' demands to step down.
The protesters have been demanding the resignation of senior government officials.
They also have calle for the revocation of broadcasting licenses for TV networks which, they say, promote violence and glorify crime figures.
The opposition accuses Vucic of fueling intolerance and hate speech during his increasingly autocratic rule, while illegally taking hold of all institutions.
The president denies this, claiming the opposition groups want him toppled by force.
Some of the protesters also expressed their concern about the increased tension with neighbouring Kosovo.
International efforts to defuse a crisis in northern Kosovo intensified after ethnic Serbs clashed with NATO-led peacekeepers.
The Serbs want the Kosovo special police and ethnic Albanian officials who were recently elected to mayor's offices to withdraw from northern Kosovo.
The tension has sparked fears of renewed conflict in the troubled region.
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