The event was held under the slogan “Don’t push! Have a seat.”
The third day of anti-Government demonstrations in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, ended without major incidents. This was reported by TASS.
The mass action started at about 19 hours local time (20:00 Moscow time). Young people went out on the roadway and sat down on the asphalt, blocking the traffic. The action was held under the slogan “Do not push! Have a seat”. Its participants thus demonstrated their peaceful intentions and refusal to use force.
Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, some groups of protesters tried to “rock the crowd” several times. However, supporters of peaceful protest began to whistle such attempts, sometimes culminating in short scuffles between the different groups. Peaceful protesters sat between Parliament and the protesters, meeting whistling attempts by aggressive citizens to throw a bottle at the police. “Let’s not let the riots happen”, – the young men chanted.
At one point in the crowd, fireworks and fireworks started lighting, but there were no attacks on law enforcement officers. In the final hours of the rally, 200-300 people remained in the square in front of Parliament, many of whom were intoxicated and tried to climb over the fence. More often than not, however, such attempts were violently repressed by peaceful protesters. At the very end of the hours-long action, one of the protesting students, who was holding a sign with the slogan “Down with the dictatorship!”, managed to escape to the steps of Parliament, but a couple of minutes later, after making sure that no one had followed him, the young man was photographed and returned to the fence.
There were no policemen on the square, but several law enforcement officers were on duty at the entrance to the parliament building. The police special forces were, however, nearby, located in the square on the opposite side of the building, without showing themselves in the square.
The disturbances in Belgrade began on 7 July. According to police reports, in two days, 118 police officers and 34 demonstrators were injured in clashes between police and right-wing groups. Twenty-three people were detained and five police vehicles were burned.