The Serbian opposition is shaking up the migrant problem
The Serbian capital was uneasy on International Women's Day. A rally was held here that united supporters of radical nationalist organizations against migrants from the Middle East.
About 200 people blocked Nemanyina Street adjacent to the government building - Vlada, preventing the passage of traffic. The police had to block a section of the roadway.
This action was called “Mass People’s Patrol” - by analogy with the illegal “people’s patrols” organized by nationalist associations.
In essence, “patrols” are groups of people who, without authority, stop on the streets of cities who seem to them to be illegal migrants. The latter are required to present documents, and if those stopped do not have any, they may not be given a warm welcome. Similar patrols also operate in Bulgaria, Slovenia and Germany in the context of the migration crisis. In Serbia, the activities of radicals have already attracted the attention of the police and prosecutors several times.
Waving the flags of Serbia and Greece, as a sign of their support in connection with the conflict over refugees, those gathered shouted nationalist slogans like “Serbia to the Serbs”, “Migrants behind the wire”, etc. They also actively criticized the current government for the fact that the borders of Serbia are are still not closed to people from Syria.
Speakers from a makeshift podium spoke about the threat posed by Islamists arriving in Europe under the guise of peaceful refugees. “If today we let them into Serbia, tomorrow they will be photographed with our heads in their hands,” said one of the speakers.
There were also accusations that the Serbian media are hushing up the problem of migrants whom EU countries are expelling from their territories to Serbia.
As evidence of the danger posed by refugees, the organizers cited the testimony of two victims of violence - the injured waiter Nenad Savic from Belgrade, who, according to him, received a leg injury in a fight with migrants. The man was withdrawing money from an ATM when he was attacked by unidentified persons. There was also the story of a girl taxi driver Natalia Rangelov from Pirot, who was frightened by the aggressive behavior and insults from her passengers from among illegal immigrants from the Middle East.
However, according to both witnesses, they did not write statements to the police demanding an investigation into these incidents - thus, it is impossible to verify the authenticity of the accusations.
One of the speakers called on the police to protect their citizens, and if they cannot do this, then they, the nationalists, are ready to take this matter upon themselves.
After the speeches, the crowd moved towards Savamala - the part of Belgrade where the main group of migrants is currently concentrated - this is the area near the former railway station building, where construction work is underway. Along the way, the radicals threw a stone at the building of the Commissariat for Refugees. Having arrived at the end point of their route, the protesters began shouting their slogans again, but there were no clashes with the refugees, and everything turned out peacefully.
Today it is difficult to say who exactly is behind these nationalist structures, but the offensive slogans directed against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his government allow us to say that the opposition “hydra” has acquired another head.
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