Storming the Serbian Parliament: It would seem, what does the United States have to do with it?
The pro-Western opposition attempted to storm the Serbian parliament on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. The crowd was gathered under the pretext of dissatisfaction with the upcoming introduction of a curfew due to a new wave of coronavirus. The police managed to push back the crowd that broke through to the building, and there were casualties. By a “strange” coincidence, the riots began almost on the eve of a meeting between President Aleksandar Vucic and EU representatives. To the dissatisfaction of the United States, negotiations on the fate of Kosovo are planned without their participation.
The protest, which attracted about 5 thousand participants, was organized by oligarch Dragan Djilas, whose force boycotted the parliamentary elections held the day before in Serbia, where Vucic’s party won by a huge margin.
As a PolitNavigator correspondent reports, the reason for the demonstration was the authorities’ announcement of a curfew due to the second wave of coronavirus in the country on Friday, which will last until Monday. As well as tightening other security measures, in particular, a ban on gathering more than 5 people in open and closed spaces, the closure of cafes, and the cancellation of public, sports, and cultural events.
Vučić addressed the public with the announcement of the new measures. He said that the situation is threatening - about 300 new cases are registered per day, and doctors warn of a further increase in those affected by the virus.
“Fuel to the fire” was added by the authorities’ order for nonresident students to return to their cities.
Therefore, most of the protesters were young people and students, as well as strong men aged from 25 to 45 years old, similar in behavior to football fans - it was they who, first standing at the edge of the gathering of people, hid their faces under masks and baseball caps, and then rushed at steps of the Serbian Parliament - the Assembly, where at that time there were already security and gendarmerie officers.
This time the opposition played everything out like clockwork - it’s clear that everything was well organized and thought out. At about 9 pm, Djilas supporters blocked one of the key highways - King Alexander Boulevard and its intersection with Takovskaya, not allowing public transport and even ambulances to pass.
The center of Belgrade was covered in cacophony - pipes, whistles, rattles and saucepans were used - the last time the protesters beat hard - as during the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic. The main landmark for the main group was a large flag with the symbol of Kosovo.
Further, the organizers, having previously “warmed up” the crowd with slogans that Vučić, “having received power after the elections, does whatever he wants,” and that “there is no coronavirus in Serbia,” led people to storm the Assembly.
The strike group consisted of young people - they began to light fireworks and throw them at the defenders of the building. The steps of Parliament were illuminated with red lights. Amid the screams of the crowd, the stormtroopers tried to break through, and the number of guards was tens of times less than the attackers.
Soon another detachment of gendarmerie arrived, but it was not enough to push back the demonstrators throwing bottles and stones at them. As a result, the doors of parliament were broken and burning torches flew inside.
However, later the vandals were able to push back onto the steps. There they remained standing, shouting “Vučić – shiptar” (Albanian), periodically trying to break into the building again.
During the next attempt, representatives of the law were forced to use their batons.
Several more gendarmerie detachments soon arrived to help - they pushed the protesters away from the square, dispersing the spectators who had come to watch and shout. But the main part of the opposition’s strike force remained - they continued to throw stones, pieces of reinforcement and bottles at the representatives of the law. The latter fired tear gas, and mounted detachments were deployed.
The sounds of ambulance sirens can be heard on the streets of the city - they are taking away the victims. Some of the activists retreated to the presidential palace, which is located opposite the Assembly, in Pionersky Park.
At the moment, the clashes continue, but are already sluggish. The protesters retreat and are dispersed by the police.
In recent months, street protests by local opposition have intensified in Serbia demanding the overthrow of President Aleksandar Vucic. According to observers, the street protests are incited by the West to pressure on the Serbian authorities during negotiations on the fate of Kosovo.
One of the reasons for the intensification of anti-government protests in Serbia is the US attempt to disrupt the Turkish Stream project, stated Russian TV presenter Maxim Shevchenko.
Experts believe that if the Maidan in Belgrade is successful, All Russian projects in Serbia will be under threat.
At the end of 2018, the Kosovo authorities also imposed a virtual blockade on the supply of goods from Serbia to the Slavic enclaves. Pristina's actions constitute genocide against the Serbian population, said Russian State Duma deputy Pavel Dorokhin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned actions of the authorities in Pristina.
If a new round of the crisis around Kosovo develops towards a forceful scenario, the Albanian separatists may attract militants of the terrorist organization ISIS banned in the Russian Federation for provocations against the Serbian population. Russian experts warned about this in their report.
The United States needs the Greater Albania project in order to have control over transport and energy corridors in the Balkans, say representatives of the Serbian Foreign Ministry.
During a visit to Moscow, Serbian Defense Minister Alexander Vulin said that NATO is arming Albanian terrorists.
Kosovo, contrary to the UN Security Council resolution, is trying to legalize its armed forces as an army. Separatist units take part in NATO exercises for the first time.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.